Get Outdoors in a National Park This Weekend - for FREE!

Have you been wondering what to do to celebrate this long MLK weekend? Maybe a short trip somewhere wild where you can enjoy the great outdoors and/or absorb some American history? Well, you're in luck: ALL of our country's 397 national parks have totally free admission this weekend from Saturday to Monday! (Read more about it here.) Also luckily for you, there are lots of national parks to choose from in the Great Lakes region. Just one example of where you could go for free:

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Here's a list of parks and other national sites, broken down by state:

Illinois:

Chicago Portage National Historic Site

Lincoln Home National Historic Site

Indiana:

Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery

George Rogers Clark National Historical Park

Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore

Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial

Michigan:

Father Marquette National Memorial

Isle Royale National Park

Keweenaw National Historical Park

North Country National Scenic Trail

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

River Raisin National Battlefield Park

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Minnesota:

Voyageurs National Park

Grand Portage National Monument

Mississippi National River and Recreation Area

North Country National Scenic Trail

Pipestone National Monument

New York:

African Burial Ground National Monument

Castle Clinton National Monument

Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site

Federal Hall National Memorial

Fire Island National Seashore

Fort Stanwix National Monument

Gateway National Recreation Area

General Grant National Memorial

Governors Island National Monument

Hamilton Grange National Memorial

Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site

Lower East Side Tenement Museum

Martin Van Buren National Historic Site

North Country National Scenic Trail

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

Saint Paul's Church

Saratoga National Historical Park

Statue of Liberty National Monument

Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace

Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site

Thomas Cole National Historic Site

Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River

Vanderbilt Mansion

Women's Rights National Historical Park

Ohio:

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park

First Ladies National Historic Site

Hopewell Culture National Historical Park

James A. Garfield National Historic Site

Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial

William Howard Taft National Historic Site

Pennsylvania:

Allegheny Portage Railroad

Edgar Allen Poe National Historic Site

Eisenhower National Historic Site

Flight 93 National Memorial

Fort Necessity National Battlefield

Friendship Hill

Gettysburg National Military Park

Gloria Dei Church

Hopewell Furnace National Historical Site

Independence National Historical Park

Johnstown Flood National Memorial

North Country National Scenic Trail

Steamtown National Historic Site

Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial

Valley Forge National Historical Park

Wisconsin:

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

Ice Age National Scenic Trail

North Country National Scenic Trail

Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway

Whether or not you have a chance to get to one of these this weekend, we want to hear from you! What is your favorite national park in the Great Lakes region? What's your favorite thing to do at a national park? What's the one park you've always meant to visit but just haven't found the time? Leave a comment and let us know!

Posted by Sierra Club intern Liz Bizer