This could very well be the year of the national park. Ken Burns, the famous documentary filmmaker of “Baseball” and “The Civil War” fame, will air his latest work, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea” this fall on PBS. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced that entrance fees will be waived at 147 parks on June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16 of this year. And the Statue of Liberty’s crown, closed after 9/11, is once again open for visitors.

According to the National Park Service statistics for 2008, there were a little less than 275 million recreational visits to national parks. That is a lot of visits, but consider that 1 out of 3 acres in the United States is public land, 83.6 million of which are national park land. Add to that 193 million acres of US Forest land (not all of which is dedicated to leisure use), plus the considerable acreage of state parks, national wildlife refuge systems, and other federal and state lands, and that amounts to a vast amount of recreational territory.

Congress created Yellowstone National Park in 1872 and 44 years later President Woodrow Wilson established the National Park System. Since then, the park system has grown to 360 sites in 49 states (Delaware is the only state with no national park), the District of Columbia, and several U.S. territories like Puerto Rico and Guam.

Though all parks are created equal, they are not all the same. They range from the largest, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska, a whopping 13.2 million acres which translates to a total of 16.3% of the entire national park system, to Thaddeus Koscuiszko National Memorial, a postage stamp-sized 0.02 of an acre in the heart of downtown Philadelphia. Blue Ridge Parkway, which threads through Virginia and North Carolina, was the most visited in 2008, with 16,309,307 visitors. The least visited park was Alaska’s extremely remote Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, with a total of 10 souls venturing there by plane or boat; it is not accessible by road. Entrance fees differ as well; many are free, but fees can be as high as $25 for a 7-day pass for a private, noncommercial vehicle. If you are a frequent park visitor, consider buying the Interagency Annual Pass for $80, which gives you access to all federal recreation lands for a year.

In response to the precipitous decline in the economy, many are looking to trim costs this summer and a national park vacation is fantastic value for your buck. Even at the most expensive parks, the entrance fee is less than the typical cost of 3 adult tickets to the latest Hollywood blockbuster. Camping fees are considerably lower than the cheapest of motels, and since you will be packing most of your own food, exorbitant restaurant bills are avoided. The inevitable summertime rise in gas prices notwithstanding, it will likely be cheaper to drive your family to a far-flung park than it would be to fly them to a popular tourist destination. And who doesn’t want to be a part of the hallowed American tradition of packing your family into the station wagon for a cross country summer road trip?

So, with all of those choices out there, and a summer that will likely see heavy traffic in many of the more popular parks due to a surge in budget-conscious vacationers, how do you decide where to go? NEA Member Benefits asked 3 travel writers to profile their favorite parks, excluding the world-famous iconic ones, like the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. The parks they chose, listed alphabetically below, are strung across the nation, from Hawaii to Maine. Many of these parks, like Chaco Culture National Historical Park and Great Basin National Park, rank low on the 2008 National Park Statistics Ranking Report for Recreation Visits because they are many hours drive into the rugged interior. Delaware Gap National Recreation Area ranks the highest on the list at number 8, as befitting a park so close to the densely populated environs of New York and Philadelphia, but as noted in the profile, the majority of visitors only leave their cars for the view at the overlooks of the breathtaking gorge.

A teacher is never really on vacation, not even during the summer months. The National Park Service understands that education is an important part of their mission, and their website features a comprehensive section on Interpretation and Education. Each park’s individual website also provides their own postings specifically for teachers, loaded with helpful information on curriculum materials, professional development opportunities, online galleries and other valuable resources. There is also a website that offers ideas, lesson plans and resources for incorporating properties on the National Register of Historic Places into the classroom.

Click on the link to read the park’s profile.

Acadia National Park. This popular Maine park is home to over 40 miles of rocky, tidal pool strewn coastline, beautiful wetlands, towering ocean cliffs, 26 lakes and ponds, and the East Coast's highest peak, 1532-foot Cadillac Mountain.

Chaco Culture National Historical Park. In a remote corner of New Mexico, picturesque ruins reveal the sophistication of an ancient civilization with some of the most important rock art sites in the country.

Cumberland Island National Seashore. From kayaking to hiking, loggerhead sea turtles to wild horses, sand dunes to sunsets, Georgia’s southernmost barrier island packs a lot in for the nature-loving vacationer.

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. So close and yet so far. Though less than 80 miles from New York City and Philadelphia, this park straddling New Jersey and Pennsylvania still hangs on to the feel of the frontier land it once was.

Great Basin National Park. There is no better place for getting away from it all than this park that ascends 8,000 feet from desert valley floor to mountainous heights in Nevada’s vast outback.

Haleakala National Park. Paradise found in this giant outdoor playground that offers abundant opportunities to practice the Hawaiian art of hoonanea, spending time in peace, ease and pleasure.

Mammoth Cave National Park. Beat the summer heat with a visit to Kentucky and the world’s longest cave system, with over 350 miles of naturally air-conditioned tunnels.

Olympic National Park. Nature “rains” in this Washington state parkland of mossy, Tolkeinesque forests, wild, wave-pounded beaches and glaciated peaks that tower above the clouds.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Wild, remote, quiet and beautiful, this Michigan park gets its name from the colorful sandstone cliffs that line the coastline of the clear, chilly waters of Lake Superior. But the cliffs are only the tip of this off-the-radar park’s attractions.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Get two-for-one in California’s Sierra Nevada range as you reach for the sky among legendary towering Redwoods and plumb the dramatic depths of the USA’s deepest canyon.

Superior National Forest and Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Celebrate the centennial of this Minnesota park with a visit this summer and cool down on the thousands of streams and lakes that make it a canoer’s dream.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Out in the badlands of North Dakota, America’s least-visited state, this landscape of stunning beauty is a hidden treasure lying in plain sight.