Expanded Salem Visitor Center Hours, National Park Week Begins

News Release Date: April 18, 2014

Contact: Jonathan Parker, [phone]

SALEM, MA - The National Park Service Regional Visitor Center in Salem (2 New Liberty St.) is expanding its hours of operation and will now be open daily9AM - 5PM, beginning Monday April 21st, 2014. The Visitor Center will remain open seven days a week through October 2014.

Looking for something fun to do with family and friends this week? Head out to one of the 15 National Park sites in Massachusetts to hike, bike, learn and explore your local and national heritage as part of National Park Week. If you think the National Parks are just places to take a hike or explore nature, you might want to think again.

Salem Maritime National Historic Site is a National Park - so is Cape Cod National Seashore, Lowell National Historical Park, and Springfield Armory - along with 11 others sites in Massachusetts. Parks like Acadia in Maine and Yosemite in California aren't the only types of parks in the National Park System. Hundreds of historic sites, battlefields, beaches and national monuments share the distinction of being part of the National Park System.

"National parks are closer than many people think; every state has at least one," said Kathy Kupper, a spokeswoman for the National Park Service. "These range from big natural parks to smaller historical sites."

The National Park Service is proud to once again join with the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America's national parks, to present National Park Week, a presidentially proclaimed celebration of our national heritage running from April 19-27, 2014.

You can plan your visit by what you want to do, or where you want to go ... or you can browse our event calendar and check out the special programs offered throughout the week. On opening weekend,Saturday and Sunday, April 19 to 20, every national park will give you free admission!