National parks free on MLK Day

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, January 20, the National Park Service is allowing FREE admission at all national parks. For Portlanders, there are two national parks within easy driving distance: Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, just across the Columbia River in Vancouver, Wash.; and Lewis & Clark National Historical Park, just south of Astoria.

Fort Vancouver was a fur-trading center operated by the British Hudson Bay Company in the early 1800s. Costumed interpreters demonstrate how people lived and traded at the fort. Lewis & Clark National Historical Park is at the location of Fort Clatsop, built by members of the Lewis & Clark Expedition as their winter home in 1805-06. A replica of the fort stands near the museum.

The National Park Service offers six free days or weekends during 2014. The next one is on Presidents’ Day Weekend, February 15 to 17. See the complete list of free dates here.