National Parks: America's Best Idea

What do America's National Parks mean to you? 

Get ready to ponder and explore your own personal connection to America's National Parks as the new Ken Burns' documentary, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" comes to a television near you. It premiers Sunday, September 27 at 8pm on PBS (KCTS 9 in Seattle).

What can we expect from the documentary? Ken Burns describes the six-episode film:

"It is a documentary history of people from every conceivable background who were willing to devote themselves to saving some precious portion of the land they loved, and in doing so reminded their fellow citizens of the full meaning of democracy.

It is a story of struggle and conflict, high ideals and crass opportunism, stirring adventure and enduring inspiration -- set against breathtaking backdrops."

We can't wait. In fact, we're so excited about the National Parks documentary that we'll be featuring National Park hike suggestions on wta.org and Signpost blog posts covering the PBS series over the next week, so be sure to check back often.

Can't wait until Sunday? Watch a 25-minute preview of the National Parks documentary here. And tune into KCTS this Friday at 7:30pm for a special short documentary called "Northwest Stories," which reveals the people behind the Parks of the Pacific Northwest. (We bet you'll catch a glimpse of some happy volunteers in hardhats!)

And if you can only watch one evening, make it the 5th episode on Thursday, October 1, which features historical film footage from both Mount Rainier and Olympic National Parks.

You can get your National Parks documentary fix all day long by following the Parks documentary on Twitter and becoming a fan on Facebook.