National Parks Tours With Road Scholar

The National Park Service celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016! But what exactly does the NPS do? The agency is tasked with managing, maintaining and conserving all 63 U.S. National Parks along with 350 other federal sites. They preserve national history, conserve natural beauty and care for communities across the country.

Before the National Park Service, the future of our national parks was dire. Yellowstone, the first national park, was established in 1872 but the National Park Service wasn't formed until 1916. In the interim, Yellowstone and all the other parks were governed independently and with little success. Yellowstone was mismanaged in turn by the federal regulators, a civilian staff and the U.S. Army before prominent businessman Stephan Mather intervened. Alarmed by the exploitative opportunists, poachers, and robbers that were plaguing the park, he pleaded the case of Yellowstone to Secretary of the Interior Franklin Lane. For the ongoing protection and prosperity of the parks, he decided to form a new federal agency dedicated to preserving the purity of our national parks. The National Park Service was created, they saved Yellowstone and 100 years later our National Parks are still thriving.

If you're a national park aficionado or if you're looking to start your national park adventures, you might be wondering - is there a national park pass? You're in luck! The National Park Annual Pass grants entry to every U.S. national park, forest, grassland and any other Federal Recreational Land, and it covers all amenity and day use fees! Be sure to check out the Senior Pass for U.S. citizens or residents over 62. Learn more here.

Also, keep in mind that all entrance fees are included in the price of a National Park program with Road Scholar.

Parks Canada offers passes that allow unlimited access to a national park for one year. However, in 2017, park entrance fees will be waived in Canada to celebrate the country's sesquicentennial!

The best time to visit the National Parks in the U.S. or Canada is October. This autumn month offers a sweet spot between high and low season when there are fewer people in the parks, but the chance for good weather is still high. Smaller crowds mean lower rates for hotels, and the lovely weather is accompanied by active wildlife and brilliant foliage in many of the national parks across the U.S. and Canada.

However, many national parks can be visited year-round-like those in Hawaii or California. Others are at their most beautiful with a fresh layer of snow, and still others are best seen when their native fields of flowers are in full bloom.

But really, aside from running into a serious snow storm up north or a miserable heat wave in the national parks of the southern U.S., there's really not bad time to visit the national parks. The best time is now.

The glacier-carved valleys, mighty sequoia groves and cascading waterfalls of Yosemite National Park are a testament to the true power of nature. Half Dome and El Capitan tower over a vast and pristine wilderness that boasts 800 miles of hiking trails begging to be explored.

The Yellowstone Caldera is literally bursting with geothermal phenomenon. Old Faithful’s eruptions are legendary, and the park’s brightly colored hot springs and boiling mud pots add to the park’s otherworldly mystique. The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is full of dramatic waterfalls, and the park’s rugged mountain ranges are home to remarkable wildlife like gray wolves, grizzly bear and elk.

The orange and pink sandstone cliffs, rich green vegetation, and brilliant blue skies of Zion National Park combine to paint a gorgeous natural masterpiece. Narrow slot canyons and natural arches form an enchanting maze, and grand mesas and rock towers create a desert landscape that has to be seen to be believed.

Snow-capped peaks rise above serene lakes and alpine meadows. The park’s lush mountain forests are packed with hiking trails and quaint lodges and chalets. And most importantly, the park’s 26 glaciers dominate the landscape. Glacier National Park is home to truly incredible mountain vistas as well as some of the world’s best-preserved sedimentary fossils.

Gazing upon the Great Smoky Mountains is like looking out a vast ocean — mountain ridges rise and fall on the horizon, the mist ebbs and flows between rolling valleys, and instead of ocean blue, the tree-laden mountains are forest green. America’s most visited National Park is home to over 5,000 plant species and boasts over 800 miles of scenic hiking trails, including a section of the Appalachian Trail.

The Grand Canyon is a spectacle unlike anything else on Earth. At 277 miles long, up to 18 miles across and a mile deep, the canyon is jaw-dropping for its size alone. Add in the multi-hued canyon walls, fantastic rock formations, and the mighty Colorado River and it makes the Grand Canyon a truly can’t-miss national park.

The showers and untamed rivers of the Pacific Northwest have let the region’s old-growth forests to flourish into an emerald sea of rich vegetation and incredible wildlife. This wildly diverse national park includes the alpine slopes of Mount Olympus, a plethora of lush rainforests and the rugged Pacific shoreline. At nearly one million acres and with a massive network of interconnecting trails, the vast Olympic National Park is a hiker’s dream come true.

The best of Maine’s pristine wilderness is encapsulated in Acadia National Park. Boasting coastal islands teeming with life, a shoreline graced with dramatic cliffs and the tallest mountain on the U.S. Atlantic coast, Acadia National Park is a stunning to behold. There’s plenty of hiking and exploration to be had among the park’s rugged granite peaks and peaceful woodlands.

Congress passes the Organic Act, establishing the National Park Service and placing all existing parks under its management.

The Preservation Historic Sites Act is signed, making historic preservation a priority for the U.S. and the parks department. It declared for the first time "that it is a national policy to preserve for public use historic sites, buildings, and objects of national significance."

The National Historic Preservation Act requires all historical parks to be entered into the National Register of Historic Places.  It created the National Register of Historic Places, the list of National Historic Landmarks, and the State Historic Preservation Offices. 

The Volunteers in the Parks Act establishes a program in which volunteers can aid with park service and functions.

The Redwood National Park Expansion Act protects not only the resources within the park boundaries, but also the surrounding ecosystem.