National Park Service Releases Interactive Smartphone App
A Better, More Convenient, and Fun Way to Explore National Parks
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The National Park Service this month released a new mobile app, according to an article from outsideonline.com. The new app, titled “National Park Service” is a “one-stop-shop” for visitors at National Parks to receive information, news, alerts, and recommendations.
Prior to this app, visitors seeking this level of information had to download multiple apps for each park. These apps were slow to downloaded and often crashed due to the poor reception in some of the parks’ rural locations.
Image from National Park Service/App Store
The National Park Service App eliminates this need as it only needs downloaded once. It also provides several features including accessibility information, lodging reservations, hike suggestions, audio tours, hours of operation, and maps available to download for offline use. It can also be used to book campgrounds and search for nearby food options.
The app also has detailed images of every single park passport stamp and where to get them. Users can also use the app to create and send a custom, virtual postcard or take a “belfie” (a selfie with the Liberty Bell).
The app is still in its beta version. This means some information still needs to be added and some bugs still need to be fixed. A Park Service spokesperson explains that “parks are continuously adding content to their sections of the app, so always check back to see if favorite parks have added more info.”
The National Park Service app is available free for download on the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store. Download and start exploring today.
