America's national parks

Celebrate Public Lands Day, and get a sneak preview of the new Ken Burns national parks documentary as a reward.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Ken Burns' new documentary, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," has been generating a lot of buzz, but you may not realize that it's debuting the weekend of Public Lands Day, which takes place every September 26. The National Park Service sponsors the national day of volunteering in an effort to get people interested and educated about our national parks and why we should save them. This year, roughly 220 parks will be participating, and many are thanking volunteers by showing a 20-minute preview of the upcoming documentary. The first episode of the six-part documentary airs on Sunday; check your local PBS station for air times.

So, grab your gloves and work boots and hit the parks tomorrow—and if you can't, there are still easy ways to plan your next trip to one of America's national parks. Here are some suggestions:

#1: Blue Ridge Parkway. The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway actually connects two national parks, Shenandoah to the north and the Great Smoky Mountains to the south. America's most visited national park, the scenic drive attracts most of its visitors in the fall. You might want to brave the crowds anyway, considering that November marks the beginning of the Parkway's 75th anniversary year. Head to the new visitor’s center this weekend, where the Park Service will be showing a 20-minute clip of the Ken Burns national parks documentary.