National Parks Are For Everyone:Accessible Opportunities
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NATIONAL PARKS ARE FOR EVERYONE: ACCESSIBLE OPPORTUNITIES HIGHLIGHTED IN NEW WEBSITE
Media Release
9 July 2008
WASHINGTON, DC – Last year more than 276 million people visited sites managed by the National Park Service (NPS) - each one finding their own meaning and value in a personal way. What about visitors with special needs – are they given the same opportunities to experience and appreciate the national parks? In most cases - yes.
The NPS has developed and made available a website to aid visitors with disabilities and special needs to find accessible trails, programs, activities, and other features at national park units nationwide. It is hoped that we can assist visitors and their families and friends in travel planning to the NPS site of their choice. Visit the “National Parks: Accessible to Everyone” website at http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/access/index.htm to learn about what opportunities are available in parks for visitors with disabilities and special needs.
“I am proud of all that the National Park Service is doing to provide opportunities to enjoy the parks for everyone who wants to visit,” said Mary A. Bomar, Director of the National Park Service. “We still have a way to go before we can say we are accessible to all, but that is our goal and we will continue to work to achieve that – it is the least that we can do.”
National park units are constantly moving forward to provide accessible trails, campgrounds, museum exhibits, ranger programs, and other visitor opportunities for visitors with disabilities.
This website will remain a work in progress and we will continue to add information as it becomes available. We may have missed information from some park and if an NPS unit is not highlighted here, it does not mean it does not have accessible features. To obtain information about units not included in this website, please call them or visit their websites, which can be reached via http://www.nps.gov/. Many parks include sections on their websites about accessibility; look for these sections in websites’ indexes
I am so glad that National Park Service is reaching
out to people with special needs so that they can
enjoy nature as well. I wish I would have know this
earlier so that I can ask my family to take my uncle
who had cancer there. My uncle enjoyed nature very
much. I will definitely spread the word out so that
more people will know about National Park Service.
Comment by historytrivia — July 14, 2008 @ 6:10 am
The primary advantage of “accessibility” is for those in wheel chairs. The un-noticed benefit is for those of us with kids and strollers - what works for a wheel chair makes these facilities very friendly for those of us with young families, too.
Comment by Tamara Wilhite — July 14, 2008 @ 11:48 am
That’s great.. that the National Park Service works so hard in making the national parks available to people.
Probably they’re trying to work on making it accessible for all kinds of handicapped people.. that’s great.. that way they won’t feel excluded and will be able to know those great places.
Comment by LxgShaka — July 15, 2008 @ 12:19 pm
After reading the article I am so impressed as to how the National Park Service is working so hard to make national parks accessible for all. Considering our national parks are some of the most beautiful places in our country all should be able to enjoy the beauty of them. I look forward to the updates concerning this matter.
Comment by Sausa White — July 15, 2008 @ 5:00 pm