The National Parks
National Parks. In addition to and distinct from the National Forests there are a list of notable National Parks, some of them, as, for example, the Yellowstone, of vast extent. These parks for the most part ask motor visitors to register. Campers are required to register. The registration of cars for the season of 1922 reached a total of 198,515 cars and 695,614 motorists. This number has since had a considerable increase. The figures just given are those reported by the Director of the National Park Service.
The National Parks are Hot Springs, Middle Arkansas; Yellowstone, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho; Sequoia, Middle East California; Yosemite, Middle East California; General Grant, Middle East California; Mount Rainier, West Central Washington; Crater Lake, Southern Oregon; Wind Cave, South Dakota; Platt, Southern Oklahoma; Sullys Hill, North Dakota; Mesa Verde, Southwestern Colorado; Glacier, Northwestern Montana; Rocky Mountain, North Middle Colorado; Lassen Volcanic, Northern California; Grand Canyon, North Central Arizona; Lafayette, Maine Coast; and Zion, Southwestern Utah. There are two others, Mount McKinley, Alaska (2,200 square miles), and Hawaii (118 square miles). They are [[186]]both inaccessible to the ordinary motorist. The largest of these National Parks, as already noted, is the Yellowstone with 3,348 square miles—about a thousand square miles more than make up the state of Delaware, which has an area of 2,370 square miles. Lafayette Park, which consists of the group of granite mountains upon Mount Desert Island, has only eight square miles of area. The other larger parks are Glacier, 1,534; Yosemite, 1,125; and Grand Canyon, 958 square miles. The total National Park area to date is 10,859 square miles for the nineteen parks.
Most of the National Parks, like the National Forests, have numerous motor trails, with frequent camping sites along these trails, many of which have considerable equipment and offer convenient facilities of various sorts to the motor camper.
Opening Dates of Parks
One thing for the motor tourist to ascertain when planning to visit one of the National Parks is the dates at which the parks open. All the National Parks are open during the summer months of July and August.
The usual dates of opening and closing as officially announced are as follows: Crater Lake Park, July 1 to Sept. 30; General Grant Park, May 24 to October 10; Glacier Park, June 15 to September 15; Lassen Park, June 1 to September 15; Mesa Verde Park, May 1 to November 1; Mount Rainier Park, [[187]]June 15 to September 15; Rocky Mountain Park, June 15 to October 1; Sequoia Park, May 24 to October 10; Wind Cave Park, South Dakota, June 1 to September 30; Yellowstone Park, June 20 to September 15; Zion Park, May 15 to November 1. Other National Parks not mentioned above are open all the year.