Kids To Parks Day Event Host Guide

7 STEPS TO HAVING A SUCCESSFUL KIDS TO PARKS DAY

A successful Kids to Parks Day event encourages outdoor play in kids and brings your community together in appreciation of their public lands. Use this step-by-step guide to promote and plan your event so your community has an awesome park experience.

1. Clarify Your Goals

As you get started, it’s a good idea to have clear, measurable goals for Kids to Parks Day. Setting objectives will help you plan your event and assess how successful it was afterward.

Possible goals include:

• Having a certain number of kids attend your park’s event
• Educating kids on the features and history of your park
• Having kids participate in your organized activity
• Raising revenue through purchases in your gift shop on the day of the event

2. Choose the Best Park

You may be considering a few parks in your local area. It’s important to consider a few factors to choose the perfect location, including:

• Accessibility: How close is the nearest town or city to your park? Does the park have sufficient parking spaces for the number of attendees you are expecting?
• Park Size: Is the park large enough to host the number of attendees you are expecting?
• Approval: You may need approval from park officials to host events. Contact the park or your town’s parks department to confirm.

Tip: Find parks near you with the ParkPassport app!

3. Choose Your Activites

Fun and interesting activities can create a memorable experience for the kids that attend your event. Consider your park’s natural features and what activities are best suited for it. If you want to host or facilitate certain activities or games at your park, here are a few ideas:

4. Register Your Event on Our Wesbite

Many families search on our Kids to Parks Day website and app to find their nearest Kids to Parks Day event, so we highly recommend registering your event. This way, it will be added to our national map of events and make it easy for your audience to find. Our online registration page makes this process quick and simple, and once your event is registered, you will receive additional reminders and resources. If you have questions, best practices you want to share, or ideas on how National Park Trust can better support event hosts, please email us at kidstoparks@parktrust.org.

5. Identify Possible Partners

There may be groups or organizations that want to help make your day successful. Partnering can help expand your event’s reach and make your attendees have an even better experience. Possible partners could include:

6. Logistics

Depending on the complexity and size of your event, you may want to assign event responsibilities to members of your team. You should establish who on your team is taking on responsibility for the following tasks if they apply to your event:

• Marketing and Promotion
• Partner Outreach
• Activity Coordination 
• Supplies

7. Promote Your Event

The National Park Trust provides resources so you have a great turnout. These tools, such as promotional flyers, a media outreach calendar, and social media toolkit, can be found on the Kids to Parks Day website.