Visit National Parks (Virtually) During Quarantine

National Parks Service offers a Sesame Street virtual tour for kids.

How-To Visit National Parks (Virtually) During Quarantine.

Don’t let Covid-19 restrictions stop you from participating in #NationalParksWeek - here’s how to give your family an outdoor experience, from the comfort of your home.

This is National Parks Week - but we’re all stuck indoors. Don’t let that stop you from teaching your family the important lessons National Parks provide.

National Parks are large areas of public land that are protected - so they continue to be naturally beautiful (as oppose to places like cities where trees and green space can be paved over or developed for homes and shopping malls, for example. This type of development always results in the displacement of animals, since we take away their home and sources of food.) National Parks provide a safe place to live/grow/flourish for native plants, fresh water, and wild animals. They are also scientifically proven to help keep our air and water clean thanks to the biodiversity present in these ecosystems. And the good news for humans: The public has access to them!

VIRTUAL TOURS

Many National Parks around the country are offering online tours that individuals and families can take from the comfort of their homes during quarantine. For example, Crater Lake National Park, Virgin Island National Park, and New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park are all offering virtual tours. While other sites have live webcam views showing cool parts of their land, like Channel Island National Park which houses an ocean webcam where you can see a kelp farm.

If you have children, the National Parks Service also offers a list of kid-friendly family activities you can do. Your pre-schoolers even have the option of joining Sesame Street’s Elmo and park rangers as they explore plants and animals in the Grand Canyon.

Not a kid? Well, let’s be honest, you’ll probably do the tour with Elmo anyway (Just me?) The virtual tours are pretty cool at giving you insight into planning your next adventure (Instagram #TravelBlogs await, amiright?) and, with so many parks to choose from - you can even take the Park Finder Quiz to help you pick which park you’d most enjoy visiting next.

I took the quiz, and my results all had to do with Dinosaur Fossils (SO COOL!!!) they included: Dinosaur National Monument and Florissant Fossil Beds in Colorado, and Tule Springs Fossil Bed in Nevada.

Glass half full? You’re less likely to get bitten by a tick and contract lyme disease from your couch! Happy National Parks Week everyone!