News Release

Shenandoah National Park Celebrates National Park Week with Special Events

Date: April 4, 2018
Contact: Harry F. Byrd Visitor Center, 5409993500 Ext. 3283

Luray, Virginia:  Shenandoah National Park will host special events to celebrate National Park Week from April 21 to April 29, 2018. Entrance fees will be waived at all National Park Service sites, including Shenandoah, on April 21. Join us for ranger programs, presentations, ranger led hikes, and our annual Junior Ranger Day.

National Park Week is an annual celebration of national heritage and is focused on exploring our amazing national parks and their “stars.” The National Park Service encourages everyone to find their own connection to the network of public lands and places that protect and preserve our natural and cultural history.

Help us kick off National Park Week by joining Shenandoah for our 12th annual Junior Ranger Day on Saturday, April 21 at Dickey Ridge Visitor Center (mile 4.6 on Skyline Drive) and Byrd Visitor Center (mile 51). Children and their adults will be able to examine nature items on touch tables, search for clues in indoor scavenger hunts, and try on ranger uniforms. They will have a chance to check out a park patrol vehicle or ambulance, join a wildland firefighter working a fire hose, meet a live screech owl, become a citizen scientist, or attend a talk about wildlife. National Junior Ranger Day is free and open to visitors of all ages. The complete schedule for this event and other special events in the Park can be found on our website at www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/special_events.htm.

Earth Day is every day here at Shenandoah, but on Sunday, April 22 we will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act by offering a special ranger led hike on the famous Appalachian Trail.

National Park Rx Day, Sunday, April 29, is celebrated across the United States to promote the growing movement of prescribing parks and nature to patients to improve human health. It encourages everyone to envision their visits to parks and public lands as very important parts of their physical and mental health. On this day we will be offering a special ranger led hike to our second highest peak, Stony Man Mountain.

For more detailed information on how to participate in either the Earth Day or National Rx Day hikes, check our website at https://www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/national-park-week.htm.

Our regularly scheduled ranger programs will begin on Friday, March 23. Join rangers for talks, short walks, and Birds of Prey programs. For a complete list of ranger programs, check our website at www.nps.gov/shen/planyourvisit/rangerprograms.htm or stop by a Park visitor center.