by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 8:00 AM ET, Sat June 16, 2018
Calling selfie and photo experts everywhere…
The National Park Foundation has just announced a new Instagram contest aimed at you.
The official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service is inviting park goers to submit pictures of themselves in national parks for an opportunity to earn points and win a variety of prizes.
The Pic Your Park contest (or for the hash taggers of the world #PicYourParkContest) runs through September 28.
The more parks participants visit the more points they earn in the contest. Extra points can also be gathered for posting photos in some of the nation's least visited parks.
For instance, hordes of travelers go to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming and Montana each year or Grand Canyon National Park, but far fewer visit Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, in Alaska (it only receives about 11,000 visitors annually).
Yet another example of a lesser visited park is North Cascades National Park in Washington, about three hours outside of Seattle. Known for its quiet wilderness and camping opportunities, only about 21,623 people visit annually.
All 417 parks in the National Park System are included in the contest, as are national trails, national heritage areas and more.
Double points can be earned for visiting certain parks during special "boost periods." To find out when those periods are for each park, visit this link: findyourpark.com/pic-your-park/list.
To collect points, and in order to be selected and contacted for prize redemption, all participants must have a public profile on Instagram.
"Up your Instagram game by experiencing your national parks near and far this summer, especially the lesser-known gems," Will Shafroth, president of the National Park Foundation, said in a statement. "You'll not only have the chance to win great prizes, you'll also inspire your community to get out there and explore for themselves!"
To view some of the pictures already taken by contestants (in other words, to check out the competition), visit the Pic Your Park contest webpage. The site also includes a leaderboard to show who is scoring the most points.
The grand prize winner, who will receive a trip for two to any national park site in the contiguous 48 states, will be selected based on the highest number of points at the conclusion of the contest and notified in mid-October via direct message on Instagram.
Originally launched in, Find Your Park promotion is designed to inspire people from all backgrounds to connect with, celebrate, and support America's national parks and community-based programs. #FindYourPark invites people to discover and share their own unique connections to the country's natural landscapes, vibrant culture, and rich history.
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