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I recently lost a college fraternity brother prematurely. He died at the age of 59.

It was a sad time for all who knew and loved him. But in the midst of our grief, we had one small consolation: he died doing what he loved. He was on a motorcycle trip to Yellowstone National Park, and just after viewing majestic Yellowstone Falls, he climbed on his motorcycle and died of a massive heart attack. His last gaze was upon one of our country’s most inspiring and awesome sites.

It made me realize once again how important it is to get out and experience America’s vast and varied landscape at every opportunity. I suppose George Caitlin, an artist in the early 1800s, had the same thought when he conceptualized the idea of a national park.

On a trip to the Dakotas in 1832, he worried about the impact of America's westward expansion on Indian civilization, wildlife, and wilderness. They might be preserved, he wrote, "by some great protecting policy of government ... in a magnificent park ... a nation's park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty!" 

The idea had gained some acceptance years later, when in 1864 Congress donated Yosemite Valley to California for preservation as a state park. Finally in 1872 Congress established Yellowstone National Park, signifying that public lands were to be set aside and protected by the government “for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.” That includes those of us with disabilities.

Today there are 391 areas in the National Park System, including parks, monuments, seashores, rivers and trails, and more. Every state has one, from Alaska’s Denali to Hawaii’s Haleakala. Virtually all have accessible visitors’ centers and restroom facilities, and there are 120 with accessible campgrounds. 

Does this mean that visitors with disabilities have the same opportunity to experience and appreciate the national parks as everyone else? The answer is yes—in most cases. To that end, the National Park Service has created a Web site for people with disabilities and special needs to find accessible trails, programs, activities, and other features at national park units nationwide.

Visit the “National Parks: Accessible to Everyone” Web site at http://www.nps.gov/pub_aff/access/index.htm to learn about what opportunities are available in parks for visitors with disabilities and special needs. 

According to the National Park Service, the Web site will remain a work in progress and will continue to add information as it becomes available. To obtain information about areas not included on the Web site, please call them or visit their Web sites, which can be reached via www.nps.gov. Many of the parks include sections on their Web sites that are about accessibility and can be found in the sites’ indexes.
 
Isolation is one of the most challenging issues of living with a disability. Being isolated from Mother Nature is probably the most serious. We all have a connection to nature, and without it we are lost. National Parks were created so we can all own a piece of Mother Nature’s finest handiwork. Don’t let a disability keep you from taking advantage of that ownership.

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For more information on traveling with a disability by RV, see Accessible RVing and Camping.

See Get Up and Get Out: Accessible Outdoors for some helpful hints on enjoying Mother Nature.

Utah has a nice collection of National Parks. To read about them, see Visit Utah’s Five National Parks in one RV Trip.