Get A Passport to America's National Parks

It took me until I found myself living in Washington D.C. as an adult to realize just how many beautiful National Parks we have in this great country of ours!  Growing up in Utah, I was obviously familiar with a handful of incredible local National Parks, but I am AMAZED at how many there are throughout the country that I've never even heard of!  Did you know that the National Park System Encompases 417 national parks in the United States? Am I the only one who has been completely in the dark?

Within the system of parks there are 59 sites that include "National Park" in their name (places like Yellowstone, The Grand Canyon, etc), but there are also 20 other types of parks that are protected and maintained by the National Park Service!  Here is a breakdown of said parks:

National Battlefields (11)
National Battlefield Parks (4)
National Battlefield Site (1)
National Military Parks (9)
National Historical Parks (51)
National Historic Sites (78)
International Historic Sites (1)
National Lakeshores (4)
National Memorials (30)
National Monuments (87)
National Parks (59)
National Parkways (4)
National Preserves (19)
National Reserves (2)
National Recreation Areas (18)
National Rivers (5)
National Scenic Trails (3)
National Seashores (10)
National Wild and Scenic Rivers and Riverways (10)
Other Designations (11)

There really is so much to do and see in our country!  If you're looking for a fun way to help you explore America's National Parks this summer (guaranteed your summer travels will take you near at least one!) , you HAVE to pick up a Passport to Your National Parks book!  Heck, it's worth getting one just to have a comprehensive list of all the parks alone!  

It's a little blue book that is divided into geographic regions of the country, with spaces in each section designated for you to collect rubber stamp cancellations (similar to those received in an international passport) that record the name of the park and the date you visited.  It also provides color coded regional maps, and need to know information about the parks.  Nearly every one of the 400+ National Parks offers cancellation stamps, making it a really fun way to track and log your travels as a family, and a great resource for planning summer vacations!  I just picked one up for my family to use this past week, and I'm so excited to track our travels! 

There is also a Kids' Passport to your National Parks Companion that contains checklists of the many National parks in the country, a place to list Junior Ranger programs your child completes, a field journal, and much more!  It's a great way to help get kids excited about our nation's rich history.