Free entrance to Morristown National Historic Park Tuesday

MORRISTOWN – The National Park Service is turning 99 years old on Tuesday and Morristown National Historical Park will waive its admission fee in recognition of the occassion.

“Birthdays are a time to celebrate and we want everyone to join the party,” said Morristown National Historical Park Superintendent Tom Ross.

The usual entrance fee of $7 will be waived for all visitors to the park where George Washington slept and people can hike a trail in Jockey Hollow, or explore the Cross Estate Gardens.

In preparation for next year’s big centennial celebration, the National Park Service is inviting everyone to Find Your Park. To encourage people to discover everything a park experience can be, there is a list of 99 ways to Find Your Park.

For example, No. 9 suggests: “Walk through a doorway of a historic house,” at Morristown NHP’s Washington’s Headquarters at the Ford Mansion. Or visit Jockey Hollow and try No. 53 – “Improve your health – get a park Rx;” and No. 68 – “Walk nature's treadmill.”

People can also share their park experience with others by posting on social media with the hashtag #FindYourPark.

On Aug. 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed legislation to create the National Park Service. Today, there are 408 national parks throughout the country and each one tells an important part of the American story, according to a press release from the Park Service, which said that some commemorate notable people and achievements, others conserve magnificent landscapes and natural wonders, and all provide a place to have fun and learn.

And, on August 25, all national parks will offer free entrance for everyone, the release said.

Morristown National Historical Park was established in 1933 to preserve, protect, and commemorate the landscapes, structures, features, and museum collections of the Continental Army winter encampments, the headquarters of General George Washington, and related Revolutionary War sites at Morristown.

Last year, more than 264,000 park visitors enjoyed the site, added $14.8 million to the local economy and supported 197 area jobs, the release said.