National Park Service celebrates 103rd birthday Sunday

Admission is free to national parks across country to mark milestone

A wild horse grazes next to the ruins of the Dungeness mansion in the south end of Cumberland Island, Georgia National Seashore.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The National Park Service celebrate its 103rd birthday Sunday by offering free park entry.

National parks across the country like Arizona's Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain National Park and the Florida Everglades are waiving admission fees to invite more visitors to join the celebration. 

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Here's a list of parks offering free admission in Northeast Florida and South Georgia Sunday:

  • Cumberland Island
  • Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve
  • The Castillo de San Marcos
  • Fort Matanzas National Monument 

There will also be two more days this year for free park admission:

  • National Public Lands Day on Sept. 28 and Veterans Day on Nov. 11.

President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Act on Aug.25,1916.

The National Park Service Act of 1916 is a federal law that established the National Park Service as an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The NPS was entrusted with the duty to manage the parks. The act declared that the fundamental purpose of the national park system was to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects, as well as the wildlife therein. It also created a law to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.