If you’re looking for an affordable vacation that enables you to get in touch with nature, visiting a national park is a great option. There are numerous National Parks throughout the country that offer outdoor activities, camping, and much more. Here are some facts about the nation’s most interesting parks.

• The National Parks System has 397 national parks on record, but some of them don’t seem like parks at all. Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace, for example, is considered a National Park.
• Perhaps the most famous National Park, Yellowstone National Park, is also the country’s first. Ulysses S. Grant signed a law deeming it a National Park way back in 1872.
• Mount McKinley, the highest point in North America, is located in Denali National Park and Preserve. The lowest point in the Western hemisphere is also located in a National Park; it is Death Valley, and it is found in Death Valley National Park in California.
• There are two National Parks located north of the Arctic Circle: Gates of the Arctic National Park and the Kobuk Valley National Park. Both are located in Alaska.
• More than 280 million people from all over the world visit American National Parks each year.

National Park System Fun Facts [ NPS]
Facts About US National Parks [U.S. National Parks]
Little-Known Facts About America's National Parks [Huffington Post]

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