WASHINGTON, D.C.— Planning a visit to a National Park Service (NPS) site just became a little easier with the launch of the improved www.nps.gov  website. The redesigned site was unveiled for the 90th anniversary of the NPS on August 25.

The new homepage allows each of the country’s 390 NPS units to be searched by name, location, topic, or activity. Each park’s expanded website contains park trivia, updated information, and enhanced multimedia including video and graphics. Several parks have live web cams constantly displaying significant features such as the Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park.

“The new website design allows people to better explore the country’s national parks from the comfort of their homes,” said NPS Director Fran Mainella. “The in-depth information available can be used to plan all aspects of a trip to a park. In addition, the website is a useful tool for educators and students researching topics and anyone else interested in learning about our amazing national parks.”

The website is one of the most popular in the government with an average of two million pages viewed each day. The design and navigation advancements are based on user experience and visitor feedback. Changes reflect the discovery that 80% of the site’s traffic is devoted to trip planning. Each site is now linked to state tourism offices and other area attractions.

The evolution of www.nps.gov will continue in the coming months with improvements to the History & Culture, Nature & Science, and For Kids and Teachers sections joining the new NPS home page and park web sites.