Celebrate National Park Week Across Montana

National Park Week is April 16-24. Across the country, national parks will be celebrated in various ways that serve as reminders that parks are important places, worth preserving. Places that offer time to explore and learn, to discover culture and history, and to give back. Individual parks will present different programs and events to mark this week and themes have been created for each day. All parks will offer free admission on April 16.

Montana is home to eight national parks; just part of why it's been well named the treasure state -such a bounty of natural wonders, from sunsets over glaciered mountains and green meadows lush with grasses to clear blue waters. The country's first national park, Yellowstone, an area with unparalleled geothermal and geological features, celebrated 150 years in February. It, along with seven others, conserves historical sites important to Native American settlers, trading history and cowboy culture.

Think of this week as an opportunity to discover or rediscover how each Montana park adds to the richness of life here.

Saturday, April 16 is a Day of Discovery, one to visit a new park, recharge, and reconnect with nature. Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area offers more than 120,000 acres of vast, wild landscapes, amazing vistas, a huge diversity of ecosystems, wildlife, and more than 100,000 years of human history. Choose from 17 miles of hiking trails, boating on Bighorn Lake, trout fishing in the Bighorn River, and four historical ranches to tour at this lesser-known destination offering solitude, serenity, and beauty. (Off Interstate 90 south, 43 miles to Hardin)

Sunday, April 17's theme is creativity and contribution, both easy to accomplish at Yellowstone National Park's 2.2 million acres stretching across Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho. Photography, watercolor, music, the written word, and more can easily be inspired by hiking trails, wildlife, geological formations, geothermal features, lakes, rivers, canyons, and mountain ranges. This year the park is also offering opportunities to consider its 150-year history: successes, lessons learned, today's challenges, and visions to protect the park's health for future generations. (West entrance in West Yellowstone)

Collaboration and Military is the theme for Monday, April 18 - how parks preserve important U.S. history and encourage active-duty military and veterans to visit the parks with America the Beautiful annual park passes. Nez Perce National Historic Park has 38 sites in four states, three in Montana. Big Hole National Battlefield is one, bearing witness to the Nez Perce people's 126-day, 1,170 mile forced journey. Created to honor all present on August 9, 1877, when U.S. troops surprised a sleeping camp of Nez Perce, killing 60 to 90 men, women, and children, as well as their culture. The 655-acre park has a visitor center, award-winning film, four trails, trail guides, and ranger programs. (On Highway 43, 10 miles west of Wisdom)

Tuesday's theme is transformation, recognizing the work and projects necessary to keep parks in good condition.

Glacier National Park, the Crown of the Continent, has more natural wonders than you can count, within more than a million acres: alpine meadows, deep forests, waterfalls, rugged mountains, glaciers, many lakes, an abundant variety of wildlife, more than 700 miles of trails and three visitor centers. It takes work to maintain this park, work that the public can share by leaving no trace, reducing your carbon footprint, volunteering, and looking for seasonal work.

History is the theme for Wednesday, April 20, and Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site puts you right into the life of a true American cowboy and pays homage to and preserving the dominant cattle business of the 1850s and its impact on America. Canadian fur trader Johnny Grant owned the original ranch; in 1866 he sold it to Conrad Kohrs, known as Montana's Cattle King. Once headquarters to a 10 million-acre cattle empire, the site contains 88 historic structures, cattle, seven miles of walking trails for behind-the-scenes exploration, guided tours, and ranger programs. (Along Interstate 90, on the outskirts of Deer Lodge)

Thursday recognizes the park service's role in the preservation of historic, cultural, natural, and recreational resources and its' work to preserve parks for the better. Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site preserves one of the most important fur trading spots of the 1800s when this area depended on trading for survival and the American Fur Company traded with Assiniboine and six other Northern Plains Tribes for buffalo robes and smaller furs for beads, guns, blankets, cookware, cloth, and knives. The site includes a partial reconstruction of the original fort located in the Upper Missouri River and offers guided tours, an Indian arts showcase, Jr. Ranger, and Jr. Trader programs. (15 miles SE of Bainville)

April 22 is Earth Day, a day to contribute to a healthier world and make a difference anywhere you choose. Do something good for a green space. Grab a few garbage bags, gloves, and friends and organize a cleanup hike. Plant a tree or donate to an organization that plants trees.

Curiosity is the theme for Saturday, a day to discover something new. Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument commemorates the battle fought by the Lakota, Arapaho, and Cheyenne tribes on June 25-26, 1876, to preserve their way of life, and honor all lives lost during this Last Stand. Explore the visitor center, museum, and the Custer National Cemetery. Take the walking tour with interpretive markers, and drive the 4.5-mile tour road connecting two separate battlefields, retracing the battle's steps through audio tour stops and exhibits. (Located within Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern Montana)

By the end of National Park Week you've easily attained the theme of the last day, memories, either to reflect or to create more, maybe by a return visit to Glacier, exploring the 50-mile Going-to-the Sun-Road or bringing youngsters on a kid-friendly hike to beautiful, unique St. Mary and Virginia Falls.

National Park Week may fall once a year, but luckily our national parks are always there to enjoy, treasure and support, both in Montana and across America.

For more information: NPS.gov.