Nation's State Park Directors Gather At French Lick
Updated September 5, 2016 8:10 AM
(FRENCH LICK) - The directors of the nation's state park systems will gather at a historic southern Indiana hotel this week for an annual conference. Park directors from all 50 states and U.S.-held territories who are members of the National Association of State Parks Directors will meet Tuesday through Friday at the French Lick Springs Hotel. Executive director Lewis Ledford says 48 exhibitors from the parks and recreation community will also attend the conference about 50 miles northwest of Louisville, Kentucky. The U.S. has more than 10,000 state parks that span 18 million combined acres and draw millions of visitors each year. The theme of this year's conference is "America's State Parks: Celebrating our Sacred Inheritance." Both Indiana's state park system and the National Park Service are celebrating their 100th anniversaries this year.