Happy 100th, National Park Service!

Visitors and staff alike delighted Thursday in celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the National Park Service.

Yosemite, considered one of the crown jewels of the national parks system, was founded 152 years ago when President Abraham Lincoln transferred Yosemite’s federal lands to the state of California for public use. (Read The Bee’s special report on Yosemite’s 150th anniversary.) That legislation was considered a precedent for the federal establishment several years later of Yellowstone National Park, the nation’s first national park.

Through this weekend, admission is free to all 412 national park sites.

This story was originally published August 25, 2016 at 9:11 PM with the headline "Happy 100th, National Park Service!."