The call of the wild, the allure of history

IS this the summer you decide to see a national park?

The United States has 57 national parks, including Civil War battlefields and vast expanses of natural wilderness. Although the cost of reaching them by car has increased sharply because of the price of gasoline, they remain among the most economical of trip destinations.

They provide outdoor adventures tailor-made for families with young children and learning experiences of the best sort.

How do you prepare for such a trip?

Information comes first. This year, the Travel Industry Assn. of America has launched a new campaign called See America’s National Parks, (www.seeamerica.org), which includes suggested itineraries; a searchable database to help you find the park with the right location, activities and characteristics; and special cost-cutting deals.

Start by considering a $50 National Park Pass, good for a year. (You’ll need one per household or carload.) It’s an excellent value when you consider how individual park fees can add up. The vehicle entrance fee to Maine’s Acadia National Park or the Grand Canyon, for example, is $20. The See America website also lists vacation packages from commercial tour operators for each park.

For Death Valley, Trek America’s (www.trekamerica.com) Wild West camping excursion is $657 (with the 10% See- America discount) for 10 nights, good through February 2005.

Another source for savings is the website of Colorado-based Xanterra Parks and Resorts, ([888] 297-2757, www.xanterra.com), which manages tourism in high-profile locations including Mt. Rushmore, S.D.; Grand Canyon’s North and South rims; Death Valley; Florida’s Everglades; Yellowstone; Utah’s Zion and Bryce Canyon; Arizona’s Petrified Forest; and Oregon’s Crater Lake.

You can reserve accommodations through this site, booking value-oriented packages such as See America’s Grand Canyon ($198 for two nights at Yavapai Lodge, including two breakfasts, two lunches, one dinner and two days’ worth of guided hiking).

Other park concessionaires include Delaware North ([716] 858-5000, www.delawarenorth.com), which manages Yosemite and Sequoia national parks and Niagara Falls State Park, and Aramark ([800] 999-8989, www.aramarkparks.com), for Mesa Verde in Colorado, Alaska’s Denali, Virginia’s Shenandoah and Ellis Island in New York Harbor.

Several other reservations sites are unrelated to the above concessionaires or the National Park Service; they add up to 10% in fees. The park service has information on the entire network at (202) 208-6843, www.nps.gov or www.recreation.gov.

Before and after your trip, you’ll probably receive fund-raising appeals from the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Assn. (www.npca.org), on behalf of the parks system.