# NPS Park Finder (`scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/nps-park-finder`) Actor

Find U.S. National Park Service sites by state or full-text search. Filter by designation. Uses the public NPS Data API — no API key required. Returns park name, location, description, activities, fees, and hours.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/nps-park-finder.md
- **Developed by:** [Mori](https://apify.com/scrupulous_waterbird_m4w) (community)
- **Categories:** Travel, Other, Lead generation
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

Pay per usage

This Actor is paid per platform usage. The Actor is free to use, and you only pay for the Apify platform usage, which gets cheaper the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-usage

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

## NPS Park Finder

Find U.S. National Park Service sites by state, designation, or free-text
search. Each record carries the park name, location, description, activities,
entrance fees, operating hours, and primary image. Built on the public
[NPS Data API](https://www.nps.gov/subjects/developer/api-documentation.htm) —
no API key required.

### What it does

- Queries the live parks feed (`/api/v1/parks`) from `developer.nps.gov`.
- Filters: US state(s), NPS designation(s), and a free-text `q` query against
  park name + description.
- Each record is enriched with activities, topics, primary image, primary
  entrance fee, and standard operating hours.
- One unified JSON record per park with a stable schema.

### Input

| Field | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `stateFilter` | string (CSV of 2-letter codes) | empty | e.g. `CA,AZ,UT`. Empty = all 50 states + DC + territories. |
| `designationFilter` | string (CSV) | empty | e.g. `National Park,National Monument`. Empty = all designations. |
| `searchQuery` | string | empty | Free-text query against park name + description (e.g. `glacier`, `cave`, `volcano`). |
| `maxRecords` | integer | 50 | Cap on parks returned. Min 1, max 5000. |
| `includeImages` | boolean | true | Carry the primary image URL/title/caption per record. |
| `includeFees` | boolean | true | Carry entrance fee + pass info per record. |
| `includeHours` | boolean | true | Carry operating hours + exceptions per record. |
| `proxyConfiguration` | object | `useApifyProxy: false` | Proxy settings. Free-tier runs usually don't need a proxy against developer.nps.gov. |

### Output

One record per park:

```json
{
  "parkCode": "yose",
  "fullName": "Yosemite National Park",
  "name": "Yosemite",
  "designation": "National Park",
  "states": "CA",
  "url": "https://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm",
  "description": "Not just a great valley, but a shrine to human foresight, the strength of granite, the power of glaciers, the persistence of life, and the tranquility of the High Sierra.",
  "latitude": 37.84883288,
  "longitude": -119.5571873,
  "latLong": "lat:37.84883288, long:-119.5571873",
  "directionsInfo": "Yosemite is in the central Sierra Nevada of California...",
  "directionsUrl": "https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/directions.htm",
  "weatherInfo": "Yosemite National Park covers nearly 1,200 square miles...",
  "address": "9035 Village Drive, Yosemite National Park, CA, 95389",
  "city": "Yosemite National Park",
  "stateCode": "CA",
  "postalCode": "95389",
  "phoneNumbers": "209-372-0200",
  "emailAddresses": "",
  "activities": "Hiking; Backpacking; Rock Climbing; Wildlife Watching; ... (30+ total)",
  "topics": "Geology; Glaciers; Wildlife; Forests; ... (30+ total)",
  "relevanceScore": null,
  "imageUrl": "https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/grid_builder/yosemite/crop1_1280x.jpg",
  "imageTitle": "Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View",
  "imageCaption": "Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View at sunset",
  "imageCount": 12,
  "entranceFeeUsd": 35,
  "entranceFeeTitle": "Yosemite Entrance Fee",
  "entranceFeeDescription": "Valid for 7 days. Admits private, non-commercial vehicle...",
  "entrancePasses": "Annual Pass; Interagency Annual Pass; Senior Pass; Access Pass; Military Annual Pass",
  "operatingHoursDescription": "Yosemite National Park is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year...",
  "operatingHoursStandard": "Sunday: All Day; Monday: All Day; Tuesday: All Day; Wednesday: All Day; Thursday: All Day; Friday: All Day; Saturday: All Day",
  "operatingHoursExceptions": "",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-07-15T17:30:00.000Z"
}
```

### Pricing

Free tier: 1000 NPS API requests/hour (DEMO_KEY). A 50-record run makes 1
request (single page). A 5000-record run paginates over 100 requests, well
under the limit.

### Limitations

- DEMO_KEY rate limit is 1000 requests/hour. High-volume users should register a
  free personal API key at `nps.gov/subjects/developer/get-started.htm` and
  pass it via the `NPS_API_KEY` environment variable on the run.
- The parks index is updated nightly by NPS, not in real time.
- This actor returns parks only — for current alerts / closures, use the
  companion `nps-park-alerts` actor.

### Related actors in this catalog

- `nps-park-alerts` — current alerts, closures, and conditions for parks.
- `museum-artworks` — public art-collection aggregator (Cleveland / Met / AIC / Wikidata).
- `open-library-books` — public-domain book metadata.

### Changelog

- 0.1.0 — initial release.

# Actor input Schema

## `stateFilter` (type: `string`):

Optional. Comma-separated list of 2-letter US state codes (e.g. 'CA,AZ,UT'). Empty = all 50 states + DC + territories.

## `designationFilter` (type: `string`):

Optional. Restrict to one or more NPS designations (e.g. 'National Park', 'National Monument', 'National Seashore', 'National Historic Site'). Empty = all designations.

## `searchQuery` (type: `string`):

Optional. Free-text query against park name + description. Useful for 'glacier', 'volcano', 'cave', etc.

## `maxRecords` (type: `integer`):

Cap on total parks returned. Default 50, max 5000.

## `includeImages` (type: `boolean`):

When true, each record carries the primary image URL, title, and caption (default true).

## `includeFees` (type: `boolean`):

When true, each record carries entrance fee info and pass types (default true).

## `includeHours` (type: `boolean`):

When true, each record carries standard operating hours and exceptions (default true).

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings. Free-tier apify runs usually don't need a proxy against developer.nps.gov.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "stateFilter": "",
  "designationFilter": "",
  "searchQuery": "",
  "maxRecords": 50,
  "includeImages": true,
  "includeFees": true,
  "includeHours": true,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": false
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `parkCode` (type: `string`):

No description

## `fullName` (type: `string`):

No description

## `name` (type: `string`):

No description

## `designation` (type: `string`):

No description

## `states` (type: `string`):

No description

## `url` (type: `string`):

No description

## `description` (type: `string`):

No description

## `latitude` (type: `string`):

No description

## `longitude` (type: `string`):

No description

## `latLong` (type: `string`):

No description

## `directionsInfo` (type: `string`):

No description

## `directionsUrl` (type: `string`):

No description

## `weatherInfo` (type: `string`):

No description

## `address` (type: `string`):

No description

## `city` (type: `string`):

No description

## `stateCode` (type: `string`):

No description

## `postalCode` (type: `string`):

No description

## `phoneNumbers` (type: `string`):

No description

## `emailAddresses` (type: `string`):

No description

## `activities` (type: `string`):

No description

## `topics` (type: `string`):

No description

## `relevanceScore` (type: `string`):

No description

## `imageUrl` (type: `string`):

No description

## `imageTitle` (type: `string`):

No description

## `imageCaption` (type: `string`):

No description

## `imageCount` (type: `string`):

No description

## `entranceFeeUsd` (type: `string`):

No description

## `entranceFeeTitle` (type: `string`):

No description

## `entranceFeeDescription` (type: `string`):

No description

## `entrancePasses` (type: `string`):

No description

## `operatingHoursDescription` (type: `string`):

No description

## `operatingHoursStandard` (type: `string`):

No description

## `operatingHoursExceptions` (type: `string`):

No description

## `scrapedAt` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/nps-park-finder").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/nps-park-finder").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{}' |
apify call scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/nps-park-finder --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,scrupulous_waterbird_m4w/nps-park-finder"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/QozxLg0eChQ9C113K/builds/VxN88ZQxMKbqtJ2CQ/openapi.json