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The National Park Service's new marketing campaign is somewhat counterintuitive. Park managers want you to "Find Your Park."
Just one.
It is a bid to reconnect the American public with the parks before the Centennial parties start next year.
But for Utah Office of Tourism director Vicki Varela, choosing a single park to love — particularly in Utah — is virtually impossible.
Utah's parks, she says, are about the unexpected opportunity to pick fruit from an historic orchard in Capitol Reef, see snow on the massive red cliffs of Zion, form lingering memories of a first glimpse at Delicate Arch and experience the epic adventure of riding a mountain bike on the White Rim Trail in Canyonlands.
"I'm thrilled with the events coming up around the 100-year anniversary of the National Park Service," Varela said. "The idea of the national parks being America's best idea is so true. We all need to visit the parks for the first time, or revisit them."
In an effort to help people connect to parks in deeper ways — "a feeling, a state of mind, a sense of American pride" — the National Park Service and its nonprofit partner, the National Park Foundation, announced the "Find Your Park" initiative Monday.
The goal is to encourage personal visitor connections to the country's 407 national parks. The public will play a big role in the success of the effort because park managers are hoping visitors will share their experiences and memories at the website — http://www.FindYourPark.com — and on social media with the hashtag #FindYourPark.
President Obama also recently announced the "Every Kid in a Park" initiative, where families with fourth graders can get free entry into the national parks and other federal lands for a year starting later this summer.
First Lady Michelle Obama and former first lady Laura Bush will work together on a campaign to promote the park Centennial.
Park "ambassadors" include Bill Nye "The Science Guy," actresses Bella Thorne and Roselyn Sanchez, and singer/songwriter Mary Lambert. The ambassadors each shared their personal park experiences in videos on the website.
"I look forward to celebrating the National Park Service's 100th Anniversary and encouraging people across the country to 'Find Your Park,' whether it's in your backyard, in your hometown, or in one of our beautiful national parks," Michele Obama said in a release.
Bush said she crosses national parks off a list after visiting each one — including Acadia, Yosemite, Glacier and Big Bend.
"I've collected national parks like stamps. I've even lived in a national park, the White House," Bush said in a release. "Our national parks are the treasures of our country."
The Utah Office of Tourism typically targets international visitors, but has focused recently on encouraging residents to see what they have in their own backyard. It is an effort that was reinforced by the federal shutdown in 2013.
"The silver lining in the shutdown was that a lot of Utahns said they never realized what a destination those parks are until they weren't open and national and international visitors were besides themselves," Varela said. "They told me it motivated them to take their families to visit."
As a recent grandmother, Varela said, she is looking forward to creating a new set of memories and experiences in the national parks.
Twitter: @BrettPrettyman