Choose Your Own Adventure on National Public Lands Day!
This Saturday, September 22, 2018 is the 25th Anniversary of National Public Lands Day!
Observed annually since 1994, NPLD is the largest single-day volunteer event in the United States, with nearly 170,000 volunteers donating time and service at more than 20,000 sites in 2017. Encouraging recreation on our public lands is another aim: entry fees are waived at hundreds of sites across the country.
Whether you want to recreate with a cruise on Skyline Drive in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia (saving the normal $30 entry fee), volunteer your service by helping clean up graffiti at the old zoo in the City of Los Angeles’ Griffith Park, or maybe get in a little of both with some yoga and dune restoration at Point Reyes National Seashore, there are countless options available from the resources below for you to show your love for public lands!
Did you know? Virtually every federal land management agency waives entry fees on NPLD!
- The National Park Service offers free entry to all National Parks, Monuments, and Historic sites, as one of the four annual NPS Fee-Free Days. Or, you can volunteer on one of their work projects and get a free one-day pass to be used at any NPS site in the future!
- The Bureau of Land Management has almost 300 volunteer projects across 130 sites, mainly in the western US, that can easily be found on this map.
- US Fish & Wildlife sites are also free on September 22, for ‘National Hunting and Fishing Day,’ and a number of NPLD events are shown on their calendar.
Many state and regional public lands sites are also hosting recreational and volunteer events. The best way to find one near you is through the NEEF event locator.
No matter how you decide to celebrate, if you share your adventure on social media, make sure to hashtag your posts and pix with #NPLD, and I’ll see you out there!
