Need weekend plans? Visit a national park for free

The public is invited to celebrate National Public Lands Day Saturday (Sept. 26) with the grand re-opening of Eagle Rock Lake on the Questa Ranger District. There’ll be a free lunch after the work session is over. The closest forests to Los Angeles are the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres and San Bernardino national forests (which usually require a $5 daily Adventure Pass). “As the National Park Service approaches our centennial in 2016, we look forward to engaging a new generation of Americans in a second century of caring for America’s Best Idea – National Parks”.

“National Public Lands Day, an event held annually in September, showcases our nation’s public lands and the importance of protecting natural resources through responsible use and volunteerism”, said Steven L. Stockton, professional engineer and director of Civil Works for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Washington. Last year, some 180,000 volunteers worked in every state. For more information about how you can join any of the 65 sites in Georgia, visit http://publiclandsday.org/npld-sites.

Volunteers will lend a hand at more than 100 national parks in 37 states.

In Washington, the State Parks and Recreation Commission has declared Saturday as free day; day-use visitors will not need a Discover Pass.