Acadia National Park in Maine has many claims to fame. It was the first national park east of the Mississippi. Generations of artists have immortalized its mountains, forests and rocky coastline. And of course, Acadia is the first place the see the sunrise in the continental United States. It’s history includes Native Americans, who have inhabited the land for 12,000 years. Today four distinct tribes - the Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot - are known collectively as the Wabanaki, or “People of the Dawnland.” Photo courtesy of J.K. Putnam.

Every year, people take part in one of our national parks’ best virtual experiences: watching the brown bears at Katmai National Park & Preserve on webcams. It’s so much fun to watch these magnificent animals feast on salmon and pack on the pounds. More body fat means a better chance of winter survival for brown bears, so a fat bear is a healthy bear. To educate and engage the public, the Alaska park holds a Fat Bear Week competition at the end of the salmon run to encourage people to vote for their favorite chubby bear. It’s tons of fun. Photos by National Park Service.

A natural wonder of South Florida, Everglades National Park is a gorgeous and intriguing place. Across the park’s 1.5 million acres, thick forests transition to wide wetlands and coastal lowlands, each distinct ecosystem dependent on water conditions and a few inches of elevation. In misty marshes and along quiet coasts, rare and interesting plants and animals thrive. The entire park feels alive - slowly breathing and constantly shifting. Photo courtesy of Andrew Slaton.

Let’s walk beside a meadow teeming with wildflowers and relish majestic alpine views at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. With the moon high in the sky, this scene feels like a dream. This week, we’re digitally celebrating National Park Week, and together we can daydream about our favorite park memories or add to the places we dream of going to. We can take great comfort in knowing places this beautiful exist. Photo courtesy of Doug Shearer (@Dougshearerphotography).

It’s National Park Week and we’re excited to share virtual visits to some of our country’s greatest treasures. Our first national park, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, was established in 1872 to protect the area’s incredible natural scenery, unique geothermal features and wonderful wildlife. Every day, bison herds move through picturesque valleys and geysers erupt in towering clouds of steam. Each visit to Yellowstone – and all our national parks – is a chance to see something new and connect yourself to the natural world and generations of human history. Photo by Jacob W. Frank, National Park Service.

Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge is as big as it is bold. 3.4 million acres include the spectacular volcanic islands of the Aleutian chain, the seabird cliffs of the remote Pribilofs, and icebound lands washed by the Chukchi Sea, providing essential habitat for some 40 million seabirds, representing more than 30 species. The refuge’s roots go back to President Theodore Roosevelt while the ancestors of today’s Native people came to settle along Alaska’s coast by this “sea of plenty” more than 11,000 years ago. A place of natural wonder and fascinating stories, it also appears that you can find every shade of blue among the Kachemak Bay Mountains. Photo by Ian Shive, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Big Bend National Park in Texas is famous for its natural beauty and spectacular geology. Where arid plains stretch out under starry night skies and rivers carve temple-like canyons in ancient limestone, more than 1,200 species of plants, including some 60 cacti species thrive. Pictured here is sotol, an important source of materials for basket making. The young flower stalks and seeds can be eaten and the stalks are used to make temporary shelters, porches, roofs, corrals and walking sticks. When the sap is fermented, it produces an alcoholic beverage also called sotol. We hope you enjoyed this virtual visit to Texas. Photo by C. A. Hoyt, National Park Service.

Desert Lily Preserve Natural Area in California was established in 1968 to protect 2,000 acres of prime wildflower habitat. In the spring, purple desert verbena, yellow desert dandelion, bright evening primrose and white desert lilies, these gorgeous wildflowers carpet the floor of the Chuckwalla Valley as far as the eye can see. Photo by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management. 

During the Jurassic period - 149 million years ago - the area of Utah and Colorado that is now Dinosaur National Monument looked much different than today. Large rivers dominated the landscape, flowing from highlands in the south towards the north. A savannah environment surrounded the river courses, but instead of a grassland, these savannahs featured ferns and conifers. Living on those verdant plains, dinosaurs like apatasaurus, diplodocus and stegosaurus grazed while avoiding the predatory allosaurus. The remarkable fossils of these ancient animals gave the park its name. Photo by National Park Service.

A magnificent sunrise kisses the landscape at Grand Teton National Park with early morning light. The skyline of the Teton Range in northwestern Wyoming depicts quintessential mountain beauty. Many have stood in awe, in this very place, pondering life and overwhelmed by the stunning surroundings. Isn’t it spectacular? We’d love to hear about times you’ve been to your public lands and felt utterly awestruck. We can relive these memories again and again when we share them. Photo by Michel Henson (www.sharetheexperience.org).