Yosemite, Lassen, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National parks will celebrate National Parks Week April 18-26.
The Sierra, April 15, 2015 – We are blessed in the Sierra to have 4 fantastic national parks to choose from for any outdoor adventure. So weekends like this upcoming, are a treasure to be captured for families and explorers across California, Nevada. National Parks Week celebrates the opening week of National parks across the nation. In partnership with the National Parks foundation, the official charity of America’s national parks, to celebrate this presidentially proclaimed week as part of our national heritage. The Week starts off at all parks April 18 & 19 with Free Admission for all to come explore, gather, and enjoy time in your National Parks.
This season the National Parks have already made big news, as President Obama announced the Every 4th Grader initiative, and now they have a new website in conjunction with the National Parks Foundation. www.findyourpark.com . “Find Your Park” is also the theme for this year’s National Park Week, April 18 –26.There will be free entrance to all national park areas during the opening weekend of National Park Week on April 18 & 19. April 18, is also National Junior Ranger Day. If you have young ones in your family, consider introducing them to the junior ranger program.
On April 22, the National parks will also be celebrating Earth Day. A great day to volunteer at your National parks to help with general projects that help keep our parks clean and safe.
Here is what you can expect this weekend and week if you choose to go visit one of your National Parks in the Sierra
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park rangers will help celebrate National Park Week and share about the park at Redding’s Turtle Bay Exploratorium’ s Earth Day Celebration on April 22, the Red Bluff Children’s Fair and Redding’s Watershed Festival on April 25.
Yosemite National Park
Stand Up for What you Stand On! YOUR park. YOUR plant. 125 years of Yosemite National Park.
Join us on Saturday, April 18 for a whole day of special events and activities in honor of 
Earth Day and Junior Ranger Day! The main Earth Day celebration and Junior Ranger Exploration Fair will be held in front of the Valley Visitor Center from 10:30 – 2:00 pm, with special activities hosted before, during and after the fair.
9:00 – 10:30 am: Photo Walk – Ansel Adams and the Yosemite Landscape
10:30 – 2:00 pm: Earth Day Celebration and Junior Ranger Exploration Fair
10:30 – 11:30 am: Junior Ranger Walk
11:00 – 11:20 am : Wee Wild Ones
11:30 – 11:50 am: Children’s Yoga
12:00 – 12:20 pm: Recycled Jug Band
12:00 – 4:00 pm: Universal Waste Collection
12:30 – 12:50 pm: Live Earth Music for Kids
1:00 – 1:30 pm: Wee Wild Ones
1:30 – 1:50 pm: Children’s Earth Storytelling
1:30 – 2:30 pm: Earth Day Stewardship Project Clean-Up
1:30 – 2:30 pm: Junior Ranger Walk
8:00 – 9:00 pm: Ranger Program: California’s Influence on What Would Become America’s Greatest Idea, the National Parks.
We invite you to come Find Your Park in Yosemite for National Park Week, which runs April 18-26. The park will waive entrance fees in honor of National Park Week on April 18 and 19.
For more information, check out the current issue of the Yosemite Guide, or visit www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/upload/yg15-3.pdf
Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Park
On Saturday, April 18, come celebrate National Junior Ranger Day at Sequoia and Kings
Canyon National Parks. Discover what it is like to be a park ranger! Stop at the Foothills Visitor Center (Sequoia National Park) from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. for exploration stations that include learning how insects and flowers teach us about the Earth’s climate or how horses and mules bring supplies to rangers in the wilderness. Or, from 2-3 p.m., build a cave and learn about spelunking at the Giant Forest Museum (Sequoia National Park). Or, visit Grant Grove (Kings Canyon National Park) from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. to participate in a variety of ranger-led hikes, arts and crafts, and much more! Don’t miss out on the fun! You can become a Junior Ranger at any age. Note: Entrance fees will be waived at all national parks on April 18 and 19.
In both 2015 and 2016, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is celebrating park anniversaries. In 2015, you are invited to help celebrate Sequoia National Park’s 125th anniversary and Kings Canyon National Park’s 75th anniversary! For more information about how you can participate, visit www.nps.gov/seki.
“Junior Ranger Day is a wonderful opportunity to engage with youth around national parks,” said Superintendent Woody Smeck. He added, “We look forward to celebrating with you throughout 2015, and invite you to find your park and take some time to renew yourself in wilderness or under a giant sequoia, dip your toes in a clear mountain stream, or just wonder at night sky full of stars.”
Visit www.NationalParkWeek.org to learn more about how you can join parks, programs, and partners in celebrating National Park Week across the country.
About Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, which lie-side-by-side in the southern Sierra Nevada in central California, serve as a prime example of nature’s size, beauty, and diversity. Over 1.5 million visitors from across the U.S. and the world visit these parks for the world’s largest trees (by volume), grand mountains, rugged foothills, deep canyons, vast caverns, the highest point in the lower 48 states, and more! Learn more at www.nps.gov/seki or 559-565-3341.
About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 407 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.
Sierra REC Magazine is dedicated to sharing the events, news and adventure opportunities that exist in The Sierra Mountains. From Lassen Volcanic National Park to the North down through the Central Sierra and the Lake Tahoe Basin through the rugged eastern slopes of the Mono county and Yosemite National park to the southern tips near Sequoia National Park and the PCT trail. We invite you to share stories, trips and photos from your adventures in the Sierra. Please join us on Facebook, Twitter Google + and You-Tube or email us your events and photos at sierrarecinfo@gmail.com #goexplore
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