From August 22 to August 30th, Americans can participate in National Park Week. In conjunction with America’s 250th birthday, this year’s theme is “Celebrate America’s Story.” 

The National Park Service (NPS), an agency of the Department of the Interior, oversees over 430 sites across the country—including 63 official National Parks. On January 1st, 2026, the Trump administration implemented America-First pricing and other modernization improvements to encourage more U.S. visitation.

Interest in visiting NPS sites, including the 63 parks, continues to increase annually. Last year, a record-breaking 323 million visitors traversed at least one NPS property. Great Smoky Mountains National Park on the North Carolina-Tennessee border continues to be the most visited National Park, followed by Zion in Utah, Yellowstone in Wyoming/Montana, Grand Canyon in Arizona, and Yosemite in California.

Big Bend National Park in Texas was recently in the news over proposed barrier construction in the park boundaries. This 517-mile section experiences the fewest illegal border crossings of any border sector, accounting for a mere 1% to 1.3% of activity. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that apprehensions in the sector declined 74% in 2025. In response to widespread backlash to construction at Big Bend, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott issued a statement on August 17th announcing a pause in construction:

CBP is pausing all construction activity in Big Bend National Park while I visit and conduct a personal, on-the-ground evaluation.

CBP is firmly committed to protecting America,  and that includes our national treasures like Big Bend National Park (BBNP). We know the current and predictable national security threats and they are real.  Now over the next couple of days, I will join a small team to evaluate the terrain and listen to local leadership, community members and stakeholders to ensure that we secure our borders while simultaneously protecting BBNP for generations to come.

Even as the Trump administration approves more energy and mining projects, it also promoted more public lands access for recreational opportunities—including National Parks. 

President Trump’s signature conservation law, the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), went into effect on August 4th, 2020. The GAOA has consistently been referred to as “the single largest investment in America’s national parks and public lands in history” and is “the most significant conservation achievement since Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency.”

I’ve been fortunate to visit 15 of 63 National Parks in my life thus far. I fondly remember my first National Park trips to Yosemite and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park in the late 1990s-early 2000s. Earlier this year, I explored Saguaro National Park in Tucson, Arizona. And I hope to explore new parks in the near future.

I’m not alone in enjoying America’s Best Idea. A full 85% of Americans have visited at least one national park in their lifetime, as well. 

This National Park Week, locate an NPS site near you to “Find Your Park.”