National Hop-a-Park Day is a holiday that encourages everyone to get out of their house and explore the parks around them. It’s observed on the first Saturday in July and is the perfect day to take a solo adventure or to take friends and family members with you on a group adventure at a local park.

Although every city has some green space labeled as a park, not enough people take advantage of them. In most cities, there are dozens of parks just waiting to be explored. So, everyone should grab a bottle of water, wear appropriate clothing for the weather, and explore a park they haven’t explored before. They might just be surprised by what they find.

Fun Facts About Parks

Let’s go over some interesting facts about parks that we discovered while exploring this holiday. We think that urban park explorers all over the world will find the following facts pretty interesting, so let’s take a quick look at them before continuing on with how National Hop-a-Park Day is observed.

• Tower Grove Park in St. Louis, Missouri, opened to the public in 1872 and covers 289 acres.
• Tower Grove Park is the largest and best-preserved Victorian Gardenesque-style city park in the U.S.
• Yellowstone National Park was founded in 1872.
• Death Valley National Park is the largest national park in the lower 48 states of the U.S.
• Death Valley National Park covers 3.4 million acres.
• Alaska and California each have eight national parks.
• In the National Park System of the U.S., there are over 879 visitor centers.
• The world’s smallest park is Mill Ends Park on a safety island in Portland, Oregon.
• Mill Ends Park is only 24 inches in diameter.

Observing National Hop-a-Park Day

This day can be observed by exploring one or several parks that exist around you. You can do this alone or with a group of friends and family members. After you head out to your local park, just be sure to use the hashtag #NationalHopAParkDay to let everyone know how your journey went.