Alaska Parks

Alaska is a perfect place for any visitor who loves to visit parks. In Alaska, parks are local, state, or national sites. Some of them encompass wilderness protection areas and/or historical landmarks. So, make sure to mark Alaska’s parks on your maps and scribble them into your itineraries, because they are well worth it.

Local Parks

First, let’s note the difference between types of parks. A local park is the most common across America. Additionally, these parks are maintained by the local government. Primarily, they are used for leisure and recreation.

They can be a green area for the public inside cities, or even spaces set aside for wildlife. Simultaneously, there can be grassy areas, rocks, trees, sports fields, lakes, ponds, rivers, trails, the list is never-ending! Basically, it’s a preserved area for local residents to go and enjoy within a growing town/city.

State and National Parks

When visiting a new state, it’s usually the state and national parks that draw the most attention. Under comparison, there are many similarities between the two, along with stark contrasts. Both are public lands.

State parks are operated by state government and often have more amenities. National parks are funded federally and owned by and maintained with tax payer dollars. People have more control over federal lands than they do with state lands and what happens with them.

National parks are preserves. Subsequently, they cannot be used for anything beside preservation and conservation. What happens to national parks is up to the people, what happens to state parks is up to the operating state authorities. So, land use on state land can differ from that which happens within federal boundaries.

Many state parks and national parks offer visitor centers, accessibility to land use, and maintain recreation areas for visitor. Each park you visit will be different than the last and it is a good idea to visit web based information, or simply to call information numbers for the places you plan to visit.