One-stop Web site for planning trips to federal recreation sites

By: Associated Press - | Saturday, April 7, 2007 8:08 PM PDT ∞

WASHINGTON (AP) ---- A new Web site makes it easier to plan trips to federal recreation sites, from monuments and historic attractions to forests, parks and scenic byways.

Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne and Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns formally launched the http://www.recreation.gov Web site at a demonstration in Washington March 28.

The site allows the public to view photos and information on thousands of places and activities. You can also use Recreation.gov to make reservations and payments online for tours, camp sites and other accommodations.

"Recreation.gov not only simplifies reservations, it showcases the many opportunities to enjoy public lands," Johanns said in a statement. "This is a refreshing change for those who have searched multiple Web pages."

If you go to the Web site with something specific in mind - say a camp site at California's Yosemite National Park or a tour of Mammoth Cave in Kentucky ---- booking is fast and easy.

But it's also a lot of fun to just browse and explore Recreation.gov. Take a look at the destinations featured on the home page, which, when the site was launched, included the National Cherry Blossom Festival, which runs through April 15 in Washington; the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Northeastern Minnesota, and Stub Creek Cabin, which you can rent for a stay in a national forest near Fort Collins, Colo. Or click around and check out the options for various activities, including biking, horseback riding, water sports or hunting. You can also search by location.

Other links from the Web site allow you to learn about boating safety, sign up to volunteer at federal sites, or "share your story" about driving national scenic byways.

Recreation.gov is the result of an interagency partnership among the U. S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Department of the Interior's National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Web site supports the National Recreation Reservation Service, which consolidates the capability to reserve sites managed by these agencies.

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