The centennial kick offs a second century of stewardship of America's national parks by engaging communities through recreation, conservation, and historic preservation programs. Most importantly, it’s about inviting everyone to visit a National Park. Everyone has a role to play in ensuring that future generations of Americans will be able to enjoy the thrilling experiences of nature and wildlife, history and culture, and the spirit of adventure that is waiting at every national park.

The National Parks are uniquely American. Take time to celebrate the visionaries who came before us with groundbreaking ideas – not only about preserving our nation's "crown jewels", but also extending the National Park Service’s mission to some of the nation’s other uniquely American treasures. The NPS manages a range of cultural sites including monuments, parkways, battlefields, cemeteries, and recreation areas. This rich variety has created a portfolio of over 390 parks, all with their own special contribution to the American story.

John Muir is the father of the National Park Service. He played many roles in his life, all of which helped him succeed in his role as an advocate for Nature. As America’s most famous naturalist and conservationist, Muir fought to protect the wild places he loved, places that can still be visited today. Muir’s writings convinced the U.S. government to protect Yosemite, Sequoia, Grand Canyon and Mt. Rainier as national parks.

"Only by going alone in silence, without baggage, can one truly get into the heart of the wilderness. All other travel is mere dust and hotels and baggage and chatter." –John Muir in a letter to his wife Louie in July 1888

In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt posed with John Muir for pictures on Overhanging Rock at the top of Glacier Point and camped in a hollow there to awake to five inches of snow, which delighted Roosevelt. Roosevelt had sent Muir a letter asking to meet him in Yosemite: “I want to drop politics absolutely for four days and just be out in the open with you.” At their meeting, Muir spoke of environmental degradation, like development, and asked for another layer of protection as a national park to improve management. Muir convinced both Roosevelt and California Governor George Pardee, on that excursion, to recede the state grant and make the Valley and the Mariposa Grove part of Yosemite National Park. This joining together of the 1864 state grant lands with the 1890 national park lands occurred during Roosevelt’s presidency in 1906.

Theodore Roosevelt was 42 when sworn in as President of the United States following the assassination of William McKinley. "It is a dreadful thing to come into the Presidency in this way; but it would be far worse to be morbid about it," Roosevelt said. "Here is the task, and I have got to do it to the best of my ability." In nearly two terms as President, Roosevelt pushed progressive reforms, advocated consumer protection laws and the regulation of big business, supported conservation of the environment, and asserted America’s authority abroad. In 1905, Roosevelt negotiated an end to the war between Russia and Japan. For this work, he was the first American and only sitting President to receive a Nobel Peace Prize.

The National Park Service is one of the United States' leading agencies for history and culture. In addition to preserving important historic sites within national park boundaries, the National Park Service works beyond those boundaries to ensure that everyone's history is saved. Whether you desire to visit an iconic historical park, discover American stories, or find assistance to preserve the places that matter to you, the goal is to discover something new about history during your visit.

How Well Do You Know Your National Parks?

• What government agency oversees the National Park Service?
  The National Park Service is a bureau for the Department of the Interior. Directly overseeing its operation is the Department’s Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks.


• How many employees are in the National Park Service?
  Including permanent, temporary and seasonal employees, approximately 22,000 professionals are employed by the National Park Service.


• What was the very first National Park?
  The National Park Service was created by an act signed by President Woodrow Wilson on August 25, 1916. Yellowstone National Park was established by an Act signed by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872 as the nation’s first National Park.


• What is the origin of the National Park Service arrowhead?
  The arrowhead was authorized as the official National Park Service emblem by the Secretary of the Interior on July 20, 1951. The components of the arrowhead may have been inspired by key attributes of the National Park System, with the sequoia tree and bison representing vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water representing scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead itself representing historical and archeological values.


• How many areas are in the National Park system?
  The system includes 413 areas covering more than 84 million acres in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These areas include national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House.


• What is the smallest and the largest National Park site?
  The smallest National Park site is Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial in Pennsylvania at 0.02 acres, while the largest National Park is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve in Alaska at 13.2 million acres.


• What National Parks are located in Oklahoma?
  Washita Battlefield National Historic Site located in Cheyenne, OK
  Chickasaw National Recreation Area located in Sulphur, OK
  Oklahoma City National Memorial located in OKC, OK
  Fort Smith National Historic Site located*
  Santa Fe National Historic Trail *
  Trail of Tear National Historic Trail*

*affiliated with sites in other states