Shenandoah National Park celebrates Kids to Parks Day

Shenandoah National Park will celebrate Kids to Parks Day on Saturday, May 19, 2018. Activities will take place at Dickey Ridge Visitor Center (mile 4.6 Skyline Drive), Byrd Visitor Center (mile 51) and the Big Meadows Amphitheater (mile 51). A full day of events is planned to get visitors up close and personal with nature.

The theme for this year’s Kids to Parks Day is the amazing birds that live in and migrate through Shenandoah National Park. Most activities will take place between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. at both visitor centers with a special evening program at the Byrd Visitor Center auditorium at 7:30 p.m. Visitors to Dickey Ridge Visitor Center can enjoy family-friendly activities and games, hear a ranger program about birds, and go on a bird walk. Visitors to Big Meadows will have a chance to meet a live bird at the Birds of Prey program, participate in games, activities and ranger programs.

The complete schedule for the event can be found on our website at: www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/kids-to-parks-day.htm. Kids to Parks Day is free and open to visitors of all ages. No reservations are needed.  There is a $25-per-car entrance fee to Shenandoah National Park which is good for seven days or use a valid Annual or Lifetime Pass.

Kids to Parks Day is a nationwide day of outdoor exploration and play, organized by the National Park Trust (NPT). The NPT is a land trust and environmental education nonprofit organization that is dedicated to preserving parks today and creating park stewards for tomorrow. To learn more about Kids to Parks Day, go to www.kidstoparks.org. More information about the NPT can be found at www.parktrust.org.

This year, NPT has partnered with Blue Star Families to provide family-friendly park events for military families on Kids to Parks Day, which coincides with Armed Forces Day 2018. Blue Star Families are encouraged to participate in Shenandoah’s Kids to Parks Day activities.  For more information about Blue Star Families, visit bluestarfam.org.

Kids to Parks Day is also a great opportunity to take advantage of the “Every Kid in a Park” initiative. Launched in September 2015, Every Kid in a Park provides the opportunity for every fourth grade student across the country to earn free admission for themselves and their family to any federal lands and waters that charge an entrance fee.  Fourth grade students can log onto the Every Kid in a Park website where they complete an interactive activity. Once completed, the students can print out a paper voucher that can be used for free admission to experience federal lands and waters first hand through August 2018. Instructions and trip planning resources can be found at the Every Kid in a Park website at www.everykidinapark.org.