A guide to the national parks of America

Foreword

The current admonition, "See America First," to say nothing of the paralysis of trans-oceanic travel by the European war, has awakened many good and patriotic Americans to the picturesqueness and historical interest of their own land. The slogan does not suggest, however, the extent of the America that is to be "seen" ; and it is well that this is not signified by its crafty wording, for the average traveler would be disheartened at the realization that to see his country exhaustively would take the rest of his natural life and preclude his ever finding time to cross the seas.

Scenic America is represented largely in its national parks, of which there are now fifteen, aggregating an area of 9,775 square miles. (This does not include the Grand Canyon, which is technically a forest reserve, but which is nevertheless included in this book.) To visit them all is to realize the boundless possibilities of this under-exploited

FOREWORD

country and to see America in its most typical phases.

You cannot judge a country by its cities alone — least of all the United States. New York is typical of nothing but itself; San Francisco is fast losing its individuality ; New Orleans' atmosphere of the past is becoming more and more vitiated by progress. And so the national parks remain as the greatest and most individual recreation grounds that any American may visit whether he cross the water or not. They combine the lure of the outdoors, the appeal of tremendous scenic magnificence, the attractions of geological and archeological study and the observation of wild animal life, and the stimulus of being brought face to face with Nature at her best and freest. Need America ask odds of Europe when comparisons are being made?

In this compilation I have endeavored to supply all necessary information as to what each of the parks offers the tourist and the various ways of seeing these features to the best advantage. All the parks are included in this second edition, the most notable additions being Rocky Mountain, Mt. McKinley,

FOREWORD

Hawaii, and Lassen Volcanic National Parks, which have been established comparatively recently. In subsequent editions others are likely to be added, for at this writing there are movements on foot toward making national parks of such places as Pike's Peak, Colorado, and Mount Baker, Washington, as well as the Grand Canyon of Arizona.

I wish to make acknowledgment for valuable data and maps obtained from bulletins issued by the Department of the Interior, and to express my gratitude to Messrs. Louis W. Hill, H. A. Noble, and W.'R. Mills of St. Paul, Minn., to Messrs. George W. Hibbard and J. F. Bahl of Seattle, Wash., to Mr. Stanley D. Roberts of Chicago, and to Mr! Stephen T. Mather, Director of the National Park Service, for personal aid in obtaining information. E. F. A.

New York, May, 1918.