America’s State Parks help capture the collective strength and importance of the great park systems developed in the 50 states. With 9,817 units encompassing 20,142,089 acres, and more than 867 million visits, America’s State Parks work to enhance the American quality of life.
Stephen T. Mather, the first director of the National Park Service, envisioned that the states and the federal government needed to work together to develop a great national system of parks. By working together the nation would develop a national system of parks that would be the envy of the world. With 312 million visits in 2022 to the national parks, 1.18 billion visits a year are made to state and national parks.
As Mather said, “Who will again say that the parks contain the highest potentialities of national pride, national contentment, and national health? A visit inspires love of country; begets contentment; engenders pride of possession; contains the antidote for national restlessness…He is a better citizen with a keener appreciation of the privilege of living here who has toured the national parks.”
The National Association of State Park Directors
The mission of the National Association of State Park Directors is to promote and advance the state park systems of America for their own significance, as well as for their important contributions to the nation’s environment, heritage, health and economy.
The National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD) brings together leaders from all 50 states and U.S. territories to strengthen and support America’s State Parks.
NASPD is organized into six regions based on geographic groupings of members. Its governance is vested in a Board of Directors consisting of ten regional representatives, along with the President, Vice President, Secretary-Treasurer, and Past President. The board oversees the America’s State Parks alliance, while the day-to-day responsibilities of the association are carried out by the Executive Director, the association’s paid staff member.
This site serves as a forum for members to exchange information on state park programs and services, including best practices, conferences, and other resources. It also provides the public with direct links to state parks in each state, current research on related topics, employment opportunities across the nation, resource links, and information about the association’s awards program.
