How to Make Your Public Lands Day a Success

September 23rd is National Public Lands Day—a day to celebrate our amazing public land by getting involved in its preservation (and getting free entry to parks).

Intrepid Americans have been celebrating Public Lands Day since 1994 but for others, visiting public lands may be something you’re new to or have little experience with.

Regardless of your experience, we have some great tips that’ll help you make your first celebration a success.

Plan Ahead

If there is one thing I could encourage you to take away it’s these two words: plan ahead. There’s a reason planning ahead is the first principle in Leave No Trace. 

Nothing is more disappointing than a bummer day outside due to a lack of planning—believe me, we’ve been there. 

Once, one of our writers baked a pizza in a Dutch oven, only to realize they had forgotten a spatula, and literally took a crowbar to a pizza to save it from burning to a crisp.

Don’t use a crowbar on your pizza. Plan ahead. Here are five small tips to help plan your trip.

Know Where You Want to Go

There are over 400 National Park sites alone! And that’s not even including other areas like National Forests and Bureau of Land Management areas. 

Take some time and look at your options. And keep in mind, for some National Parks September is the busiest month, so you might have a better time visiting a monument, seashore, historical site, or BLM land.

And What You Want to Do

So you know where you want to go but what do you want to do there?

I’ll tell you right now that on Public Lands Day every visitor center (except maybe the one at Gates of the Arctic) is going to have a line of people asking rangers what they should go see; so it’s your best bet to plan ahead what you want to see and do. 

Each NPS site has a tab on their website called “Plan Your Visit” and here you can find scenic overlooks, hikes, maps, COVID guidelines, guides, and almost everything else you will need. There are also many blogs and guides you can look at around the web.

Bring Some Snacks

Snacks are essential for any trip, in my opinion. And they’re just as important for you as they are for kids. Moods can quickly deteriorate when we’re hungry, and the enjoyment of the day will soon follow.

Snacks like granola bars, dried/fresh fruit, and nuts are all convenient and filling snacks for a day out in public land. Don’t plan on being able to get these snacks at the location you visit, they may have a limited supply and they will definitely cost more.

Also, don’t forget to bring plenty of water; and more than just a single bottle. You’d be amazed how many people don’t think about this. This is especially true in dry and hot locations. 

Bring the Ten Essenaits

The Ten Essentials are, well, essential for any day out on public land. They might even save your life one day. Visitors have gotten hurt or lost even on the shortest hikes, so bring them.

They are as follows: Navigation, Headlamp, Sun Protection, First aid, Knife, Fire, Emergency Shelter, Extra Food, Extra Water, and Extra Clothes.

You can read more on the National Park’s website.

Keep it Simple

No need to make things more complicated than they need to be! Here are a few ways to keep it simple.

Do Fewer Things

I guarantee you will have a better time if you do one thing thoroughly than if you try to see everything in a few hours. When there is no rush you will have a more meaningful experience. In fact, my favorite day ever in a National Park is one where I planned and did only one thing.

Drive Less

Isn’t one of the main reasons for exploring public lands to escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life? Traffic in a National Park is still traffic. An extra half hour on a hike (link to toddler speed?) at a remarkable place will be more enjoyable than if that half-hour was in the car.  

When you step out of your car you may travel less distance, but I assure you that you will see more.

Slow Down

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” 
– Lao Tzu

Leave the hurry of the city at home. Here are two ways to slow down and experience more.

Attend a Ranger Talk

Rangers are there to help us learn about the public land we are seeing, so why not take advantage of that? Ranger talks are an amazing time! Varying from a few minutes to over an hour these talks can help you learn a ton about the area you are visiting and enhance your experience as you explore public lands with the new knowledge you learn from a talk. You can look online or call the area you want to visit to get a schedule of ranger talks’ subjects and times. 

Earn A Junior Ranger Badge

Most people I talk to don’t even know these exist, or that they are not just for kids! Junior Ranger is a lens through which to learn about and explore our public land; and their fun! After completing the activity book for a specific area you can get sworn in by a real ranger as a Junior Ranger and earn yourself an awesome badge or patch!

You can get Junior Ranger booklets at the visitor center or plan ahead and print them out online before National Public Lands Day.

Have a Great Day!

There you have it! Some surefire ways to help make your first Public Lands day one to remember. I have no doubt that if you follow even one of these suggestions (and I hope you do more than one!) you’ll have an outstanding day. And if you do, why not send us an email sharing your experience? We’d love to hear about it!