The National Park Travelers Club is a non-profit 5017 social club organization. Its mission is to provide networking and recognition opportunities for visitors to America's National Park System. This Club acts to support and expand appreciation of the U.S. National Park System.
Description
The NPTC was organized in 2004, at the second meeting of a small group of National Park enthusiasts. Since then, it has grown to over 1700 dues paying members, and over 9700 members of the free online site www.parkstamps.org. Paying dues gives members access to the Master List, Master Database, and Master Map of all known National Park Passport Stamp locations, in addition to voting in club elections. The online site features trip reports and hints for visits to parks, information on legislation impacting parks, and a message board for park related topics. The membership meets yearly at the NPTC Annual Convention and also arranges smaller group meetings at events such as park dedications or important park anniversaries. Additionally, awards are given out to members meeting visitation criteria, such as visiting certain numbers of park units within a year, or over a lifetime. The NPTC publishes a quarterly newsletter called The Stamp Pad.
Conventions
The NPTC has hosted 14 annual conventions at various National Park Units. These meetings serve as an opportunity for club members to socialize, share trip stories, hear keynote presentations from National Park Service Rangers, and take group guided tours of the area. Attendance at the meeting is free and open to the public. A special official national park passport stamp is produced for each convention, and only available during the convention.
Clean Sweep: visiting a park unit in each of the 9 geographic regions within a year
Bronze: collecting 50 stamps from 25 units in 4 geographic regions
Silver: collecting 75 stamps from 35 units in 5 geographic regions
Gold: collecting 100 stamps from 50 units in 6 geographic regions
Other awards
Most Wanted : for finding a park passport stamp that has been exceptionally difficult to locate
Surprise Park : for visiting a park selected each year by the President of the Club for having an anniversary of historical importance
Civil War 150th Anniversary : for visiting a Civil War related site and collecting its stamp on the anniversary of an event which happened exactly 150 years ago.
Recognition
In addition to the articles referenced below, the club has been recognized by various organizations, including:
