Great Smoky Mountains National Park Joins National Find Your Park Movement

Great Smoky Mountains National Park joins parks, programs and partners across the country to encourage everyone to find their park and share their stories online at FindYourPark.com. Launched Monday by the National Park Service and the National Park Foundation, Find Your Park is a public awareness and education campaign celebrating the milestone centennial anniversary of the National Park Service in 2016 and setting the stage for its second century of service.

Find Your Park invites the public to see that a national park can be more than a place — it can be a feeling, a state of mind, or a sense of American pride. Beyond vast landscapes, the campaign highlights historical, urban, and cultural parks, as well as the National Park Service programs that protect, preserve and share nature, culture, and history in communities nationwide.

“Find Your Park” is also the theme for this year’s National Park Week, April 18 – 26. “National Park Week is a time for visitors, of all ages, to get out and experience their national parks, especially the Great Smoky Mountains,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash, “I hope during the National Park Week and over the next year as we celebrate the Natioanl Park Service’s second century, everyone will take the opportunity to Find Your Park.” This year, the park, will offer annual special programs during National Park Week and a variety of special activities in conjunction with Find Your Park.

Find Your Park Music of the Mountains April 17-19:

Great Smoky Mountains National Park will hold its 11th annual Music of the Mountains celebration Friday, April 17 through Sunday, April 19. Through the weekend, performances of traditional music will be held in neighboring communities, including an entire day of free music at the Sugarlands Visitor Center on April 18.

Smokies Find Your Park Activities Kickoff April 19:

The park will host several unique opportunities for visitors to share their stories about finding their park. Activities will include a special InstaMeet program; an interactive photo opportunity throughout the park. Visitors will be encouraged to share their experiences on social media using the hashtag #FindYourPark.

Find Your Park Junior Ranger Day April 25:

National Park rangers and volunteers will offer a variety of programs throughout the day at the Sugarlands Visitor Center and other areas throughout the park including: Find Your Park, Design Your Own Junior Ranger Arrowhead, Meet a Ranger, and much more.

Ranger Led Programs throughout National Park Week:

Throughout National Park Week visitors can attend ranger led programs focusing on all the incredible things that make the Great Smoky Mountains special. Programs include hands-on activities led at visitor centers and short ranger-led hikes around the park. A full listing of ranger led programs can be found on the park’s website at www.nps.gov/grsm/calendar.

Visit www.NationalParkWeek.org to learn more about how you can join parks, programs, and partners in celebrating National Park Week across the country.

Photo credit: NPS