Fort Clatsop was the winter encampment for the Corps of Discovery from December 1805 to March 1806. The visitor center includes a replica of Fort Clatsop similar to the one built by the explorers, an interpretive center offering an exhibit hall, gift shop and two films. The park features ranger-led programs & costumed rangers in the fort during certain seasons . Fort clastop is also the starting p…
17 parks and sites (NPS)
Experience History Come Alive at Fort Clatsop · Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
Fort Clatsop was the winter encampment for the Corps of Discovery from December 1805 to March 1806. The visitor center includes a replica of Fort Clatsop similar to the one built by the explorers, an interpretive center offering an exhibit hall, gift shop and two films. The park features ranger-led programs & costumed rangers in the fort during certain seasons . Fort clastop is also the starting point for a number of hiking trails including the Fort-to-Sea, Kwis Kwis, Netul trail, & South Clatsop Slough trail. Best…
Annapolis Sailing Cruises: Schooner Woodwind · Chesapeake Bay
Step aboard the schooners Woodwind or Woodwind II for a two-hour sailing adventure on the Chesapeake Bay. Departing from Annapolis, these classic 74-foot wooden vessels invite you to help raise the sails, take the helm, or simply relax while soaking in stunning views of the Bay Bridge, Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, and the marine life and wildlife of the Bay. This Chesapeake Gateways Network Experience, managed by Annapolis Sailing Cruises: Schooner Woodwind, offers an immersive connection to the Bay’s culture, hi…
Ranger-led Programs at Padre Island · Padre Island National Seashore
Attending a ranger-led program in the park is a great way to discover new things and learn more about Padre Island National Seashore. The park offers a variety of ranger-led programs such as deck talks and beach walks. All programs are offered free of charge. However, there is a fee to enter the park. Check the calendar or the NPS App for daily activities and at the visitor center for special pop-up programs being offered. Children in attendance at programs must be accompanied by an adult participant during the ent…
Experience History Come Alive at Fort Clatsop
Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail
Fort Clatsop was the winter encampment for the Corps of Discovery from December 1805 to March 1806. The visitor center includes a replica of Fort Clatsop similar to the one built by the explorers, an interpretive center offering an exhibit hall, gift shop and two films. The park features ranger-led programs & costumed…
Annapolis Sailing Cruises: Schooner Woodwind
Chesapeake Bay
Step aboard the schooners Woodwind or Woodwind II for a two-hour sailing adventure on the Chesapeake Bay. Departing from Annapolis, these classic 74-foot wooden vessels invite you to help raise the sails, take the helm, or simply relax while soaking in stunning views of the Bay Bridge, Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse, an…
Ranger-led Programs at Padre Island
Padre Island National Seashore
Attending a ranger-led program in the park is a great way to discover new things and learn more about Padre Island National Seashore. The park offers a variety of ranger-led programs such as deck talks and beach walks. All programs are offered free of charge. However, there is a fee to enter the park. Check the calenda…
Upcoming programs and events at parks in this collection (from the NPS Events API).
On days that the concessionaire boats run to the islands, guided hikes may be offered by national park rangers, volunteers, or concessionaire naturalists. If they are not available to lead hikes, self-guided interpretive trail booklets are available. Guided hike locations, distances, and departure times will be announced after your arrival on the island during the visitor orientation. Please check with a ranger, volunteer, or concessionaire employee for more information.
Join National Park Service rangers for free campfire talks at Presidio Tunnel Tops' Campfire Circle near the Presidio Visitor Center everyday at 3 pm - 3:30pm through Labor Day. Park rangers will present histories of the diverse people who have passed through the Presidio through time – this includes indigenous history, military stories including the Buffalo Soldiers' stories, Japanese Americans interned during WWII, and more.
Interested in seeing wildlife? Take a stroll with a ranger and explore the renowned Anhinga Trail where alligators, wading birds and other wildlife are easily spotted! Meet at the Royal Palm benches . Wheelchair accessible. 0.7 miles, 45 minutes.
Forest Stewards tend to young trees in the Presidio’s reforestation areas. Learn about urban forestry and arboriculture, while assisting with forest maintenance through planting, weeding, mulching, and other stewardship activities!
Nike Missile Site Open House is the first Saturday of every month . Rangers and volunteers - including veterans of the Nike program - come to the site to share their stories with visitors. Guided tours are offered at 12:15PM, 1:15PM, and 2:15PM. The SF-88 Nike Missile Site is the most fully restored Nike missile site in the country. During the tense years of the Cold War, from 1953 to 1979, the United States Army built and operated close to 300 Nike missile sites in the United States. These sites were designed to be the last line of defense against H-Bomb carrying Soviet bombers that had eluded the Air Force’s interceptor jet aircrafts. SF-88 in the Marin Headlands was one such site. Today, Golden Gate National Recreation Area works together with a dedicated group of volunteers to preserve the site as it was during operations to remind visitors of the physical and psychological effects of the Cold War on the American landscape. The only restrooms available at Nike are Port-a-Johns. However, about a mile before the Nike Missile Site on Field Road is a larger rest-stop / parking lot with larger restooms and running water. It is recommended to stop and use these if needed, prior to arriving to Nike. For more information, please email GOGA_MarinHeadlands_Info@nps.gov
Open the first Sunday of every month (12pm - 4pm) Tours are given periodically throughout these open house hours Battery Townsley, at Fort Cronkhite, was San Francisco's most extensive—and most secret—World War II military fortification. From 1940 to 1948, it mounted two massive battleship guns and housed more than 100 soldiers in an extensive network of underground tunnels; during the Cold War, it was used as an underground research facility. Long closed to public access, Battery Townsley has been refurbished thanks to volunteer labor and community contributions and is now ready for tours. The public is invited to visit and explore this labyrinthine fortification! In fall 2012, the park brought to this site a 16-inch gun, from the USS Missouri . The gun, identical to the one that was once mounted at Battery Townsley, helps tell the story of the coastal defense system that later gave rise to these parklands. Learn more about this new addition . Battery Townsley is reached via a moderately strenuous hike up the Coastal Trail, approximately one-half-mile north of the Rodeo Beach parking lot. For more information, and further assistance to the site, please email GOGA_MarinHeadlands_Info@nps.gov
Presidio Tunnel Tops Stewards help care for the landscaped areas at the Presidio Tunnel Tops, while learning about the unique mixture of native and non-native plants growing on the site. Activities will include pruning, weeding, spreading mulch, and other general landscaping and gardening activities.
Walk the Tunnel Tops and the historic Main Post of the Presidio with an expert NPS guide, and see the many layers of nature and history that have evolved since the Ohlone People were colonized, up until an Army base became a National Park for all people. Walk is ½ mile and flat but wear good shoes and layered clothing for the cold season.
Point Bonita Lighthouse has been a guiding light welcoming people and ships to the San Francisco Bay since 1855. The last 170 years have left the lighthouse with many fascinating stories to tell - about its lighthouse keepers, how it came to be in its current location, and more! Rangers offer a "light chat" 15-minute program at 12:15PM before opening the Point Bonita lighthouse trail from 12:30-3:30, allowing visitors to get out to the viewing platform and see the lighthouse. Additional light chats may take place during the open hours. Please note: the suspension bridge at the end of the trail is currently closed for maintenance. The lighthouse itself will be inaccessible during open hours due to this closure.
Walk the Tunnel Tops and the historic Main Post of the Presidio with an expert NPS guide, and see the many layers of nature and history that have evolved since the Ohlone People were colonized, up until an Army base became a National Park for all people. Walk is ½ mile and flat but wear good shoes and layered clothing for the cold season.
American Memorial Park honors the American and Marianas people who gave their lives during the Marianas Campaign of World War II. At the park, memorials stand in tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the US Servicemen and Chamorro and Carolinian civilians who were killed in the battles between the United States and Japan that took place on Saipan, Tinian, and the Philippine Sea in 1944.
The freshwaters of the Big Cypress Swamp, essential to the health of the neighboring Everglades, support the rich marine estuaries along Florida's southwest coast. Conserving over 729,000 acres of this vast swamp, Big Cypress National Preserve contains a mixture of tropical and temperate plant communities that are home to diverse wildlife, including the Endangered Florida panther.
Within sight of Miami, yet worlds away, Biscayne protects a rare combination of aquamarine waters, emerald islands, and fish-bejeweled coral reefs. Evidence of 10,000 years of human history is here too; from prehistoric tribes to shipwrecks, and pineapple farmers to presidents. For many, the park is a boating, fishing, and diving destination, while others enjoy a warm breeze and peaceful scenery.
The great Outer Beach described by Thoreau in the 1800s is protected within the national seashore. Forty miles of pristine sandy beach, marshes, ponds, and uplands support diverse species. Lighthouses, cultural landscapes, and wild cranberry bogs offer a glimpse of Cape Cod's past and continuing ways of life. Swimming beaches and walking and biking trails beckon today's visitors.
People first arrived in the Chesapeake Bay during the last ice age. As glaciers melted, diverse societies learned to thrive in a world of water. When Englishman Captain John Smith explored the Bay in 1608, he documented hundreds of American Indian communities. Today, sites on his map are archeological treasures and sacred sites for tribal citizens. Come join us on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay!
Channel Islands National Park encompasses five remarkable islands and their ocean environment, preserving and protecting a wealth of natural and cultural resources. Isolation over thousands of years has created unique animals, plants, and archeological resources found nowhere else on Earth and helped preserve a place where visitors can experience coastal southern California as it once was.
In May 1539, Conquistador Hernando de Soto’s army of soldiers, hired mercenaries, craftsmen, and clergy made landfall in Tampa Bay. They were met with fierce resistance of indigenous people protecting their homelands. De Soto’s quest for glory and gold would be a four year, four thousand mile odyssey of intrigue, warfare, disease, and discovery that would form the history of the United States.
Established in 1947 as the first national park created for its biodiversity, Everglades National Park protects 1.5 million acres of wetland, forest, and marine habitats and the native plants and animals that call it home. With several international designations, the park provides a major source of drinking water for local residents of South Florida and recreational opportunities for all.
Fort Matanzas National Monument preserves the fortified coquina watchtower, completed in 1742, which defended the southern approach to the Spanish military settlement of St. Augustine. It also protects approximately 300 acres of Florida coastal environment containing dunes, marsh, maritime forest, and associated flora and fauna, including threatened and endangered species.
Experience a park so rich it supports 19 distinct ecosystems with over 2,000 plant and animal species. Go for a hike, enjoy a vista, have a picnic or learn about the centuries of overlapping history from California’s indigenous cultures, Spanish colonialism, the Mexican Republic, US military expansion and the growth of San Francisco. All of this and more awaits you, so get out and find your park.
Both the harbor and river were named for the shorebird and waterfowl eggs covering their meadows. During the American Revolution, privateers hid here. Established as a National Park Service site in 1992, Great Egg Harbor National Wild and Scenic River is one of nation's best birding spots. Local jurisdictions administer its lands. The 129-mile river system flows through Pinelands National Reserve.
At the edge of the Kenai Peninsula lies a land where the ice age lingers. Nearly 40 glaciers flow from the Harding Icefield, Kenai Fjords' crowning feature. Wildlife thrives in icy waters and lush forests along the fjords once carved by the vast expanse of ice. Today, shrinking glaciers bear witness to the effects of our changing climate.
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