Lower Yellowstone Falls, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

© Tim Fitzharris/Minden Picture

This land is your land. National Park Service anniversary

Though summer is winding down, it's not too late to pack some gear and head into the great outdoors. Unsure where to go? Look no further than our 63 national parks, which exist thanks to the National Park Service, created on this day in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson. He ordered the service to preserve the landscape, wildlife, and history of the parks 'in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.' In other words, the park service was established for all of us! Just make sure that whether you're visiting the islands of American Samoa, the glaciers of the North Cascades, the waterways of the Everglades, or the 308-foot Lower Falls of Yellowstone in today's image, that you explore them with care and appreciation so that they can be preserved for centuries to come.