{"product_id":"state-park-pass-americas-doug-gelbert-9781935771791","title":"State Park Pass - America's Best idea For Dog Lovers","description":"\u003cp\u003eNational parks are America's best idea - state parks are a dog's best idea. National\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eparks may have been called \"America's best idea,\" but for dog lovers, they often\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efeel like the nation's biggest tease - epic trails and grand vistas, yet dogs are rests-\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ericted to paved pull-outs and campgrounds in all but a handful of parks. Enter\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003estate parks: America's second best idea, and arguably the best idea of all for those\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewho hike with four paws in tow. With hundreds of hidden waterfalls, forest loops, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eseaside trails, and historic landscapes that welcome dogs as fellow adventurers, \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003estate parks offer an affordable, wide-open alternative to crowded national parks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat's the promise of the State Park Pass-a roadmap to the trails, cabins, and\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003equirky treasures where America's natural wonders aren't just admired from the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eparking lot, but experienced side-by-side with your best friend.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eState parks are America's democratic idea - affordable, welcoming, and\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003edog-friendly. They preserve local pride and natural beauty while inviting everyday\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003euse, from a Saturday morning hike to a week-long family vacation. The National\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePark Service, created in 1916, saw its role as protecting landscapes and sites of\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003enational wonder. In the early days few qualified; even today there are only some\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efive dozen. Over the years another 400 or so national monuments, historic sites\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand seashores have been placed with the park service.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eToday there are thousands of state parks across 18 million acres - a patchwork\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003equilt of lakes, beaches, forests, and historic sites with roughly one billion visits an-\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003enually - far surpassing the attendance at national parks. It all began with Niagara\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFalls in 1885. America's greatest natural attraction of the 19th century was be-\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ecoming tawdry with sideshow attractions and industrial development so New York\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ecreated the Niagara Falls State Reservation, the nation's first true state park.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBy the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s there were still relatively few\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003estate parks. Many states had no state park system at all and the parks that did exist\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ewere largely undeveloped. Franklin Roosevelt created the Civilian Conservation\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCorps (CCC) to put young men to work and between 1933 and 1942 more than\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e700 parks were constructed in 40 states. Since the federal government was footing\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe bill, these new natural playgrounds could easily have been absorbed into the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNational Park Service system. But the NPS wanted no part of running these \"pic-\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003enic parks.\" Washington's logic was: wonder and grandeur belong in the national\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esystem; recreation belongs to the states.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd America's dogs have been wagging their tails ever since.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePick a state. Now go build your next doggie dream vacation around state parks.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Doug Gelbert\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1935771795\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781935771791\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Cruden Bay Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/28\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 320\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.23lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 10.00h x 7.00w x 0.67d","brand":"Doug Gelbert","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":49001895788799,"sku":"9781935771791","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/state-park-pass-americas-doug-gelbert-9781935771791","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}