NPS Director kicks off National Park Week with a visit to national parks in Manhattan

News Release Date: April 19, 2024

Contact:NPS Press

New York City - National parks in New York City were in the spotlight as the National Park Service kicks-off National Park Week, which runs April 20 through 28. National Park Service Director Chuck Sams began a weeklong coast-to-coast tour with visits to Hamiliton Grange and General Grant national memorials, two of the dozen national parks in the immediate New York City area. The national parks in New York City provided opportunities to reflect on the origins of the United States and the tremendous contributions of people, whether well-known or unknown, to the American story.

"The dozen plus national parks in New York represent the breadth of our national story providing the ideal launch pad for this year's National Park Week," National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said. "In a concentrated area, visitors can trace our evolution at sites that commemorate the first Presidential inauguration, the start of the American journey for 12 million immigrants, the sacred burial space of free and enslaved Africans, and the place where the LGBTQ+ movement was galvanized."

Sams traveled from Washington, DC to New York City by train along with volunteers from the Trails and Rails Program. The program is a partnership between the National Park Service and Amtrak that places volunteer guides on various train routes to provide passengers with stories and information about national parks and other attractions on the journey. The friendly guides delighted passengers with travel tips and encouraged people to discover the wide variety of national parks. The Trails & Rails Program continues the long tradition of connecting people with national parks that started with the creation of the American railroad system that delivered early park visitors to western parks.

The General Grant National Memorial includes the largest mausoleum in North America which is the final resting place of President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife, Julia. The memorial's stature represents the admiration felt for the man who ended the bloodiest conflict in American history as Commanding General of the Union Army and then, as President of the United States, strove to heal the nation after the Civil War.

Hamilton Grange National Memorial was the home of Alexander Hamilton. Arriving in America on his own as a teenage immigrant, he achieved great success and made lasting contributions to his adopted country as a Revolutionary War soldier, member of the Continental Congress, author of the Federalist papers, signer of the U.S. Constitution and the first Secretary Treasury.

Sams also visited the Lower East Side Tenement Museum National Historic Site,which is affiliated with the National Park Service. The museum connects visitors with the history of working-class immigrant, migrant, and refugee families who contributed to the mosaic that defines America. Their sacrifices and determination embody the desire to build a better life that still draws people to the United States from around the globe.

Did you know there are 24 national parks in New York with about a dozen in the immediate New York City area? Learn more about parks in New York on our New York state webpage. To learn more about ways to celebrate National Park Week near you visit our website.

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