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National Parks MCP Server

Provides real-time National Park data via MCP including park details, alerts, centers, campgrounds, and events.

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

Configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kyrietangsheng-mcp-server-nationalparks": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-server-nationalparks"
      ],
      "env": {
        "NPS_API_KEY": "YOUR_NPS_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

You can query real-time National Park data through a lightweight MCP server that exposes park details, alerts, centers, campgrounds, and events. This server acts as a centralized API surface you can connect to from your MCP client to get up-to-date National Park information.

How to use

Connect your MCP client to the nationalparks MCP server to perform common queries. You can search for parks, request detailed park information, check current alerts, list visitor centers, find campgrounds, and look for upcoming events. Use natural language prompts like, “What parks are there in Colorado?” or “Show me Yosemite park details and opening hours.” When you prompt the MCP client, the server will route you to the appropriate data from the National Park Service API.

How to install

Prerequisites you need before installing: install Node.js (version 14 or newer) and npm, or ensure you have a compatible runtime for executing MCP stdio servers.

Additional setup steps

Install the National Parks MCP server client via the Smithery workflow. Run this command to install the MCP server for Claude Desktop automatically:

Configuration and start

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nationalparks": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-server-nationalparks"],
      "env": {
        "NPS_API_KEY": "YOUR_NPS_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Getting started with Claude Desktop

To use the server with Claude Desktop, configure claude_desktop_config.json to include the nationalparks MCP server and your API key.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "nationalparks": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-server-nationalparks"],
      "env": {
        "NPS_API_KEY": "YOUR_NPS_API_KEY"
      }
    }
  }
}

Example installation flow

Step 1: Install the MCP server client via Smithery.

npx -y @smithery/cli install @KyrieTangSheng/mcp-server-nationalparks --client claude

Step 2: Prepare Claude Desktop configuration with your API key in the environment block shown above.

Notes and security

Keep your National Park Service API key secure. Do not share the key publicly. If you rotate keys, update the value in your client configuration and redeploy the MCP server configuration accordingly.

Tools exposed by the server

The MCP server provides these data access tools to end users:

Troubleshooting

If you encounter authentication errors, verify that NPS_API_KEY is correctly set in your environment or in the Claude Desktop configuration. Ensure the MCP server is reachable and that your client is configured to connect to the nationalparks server.

Available tools

findParks

Search for national parks by state codes, description terms, limit, start position, and activities to return matching parks with detailed information.

getParkDetails

Fetch comprehensive information about a specific park by its parkCode, including descriptions, hours, fees, contacts, and activities.

getAlerts

Retrieve current alerts for parks, including closures and hazards, optionally filtered by parkCode and searchable by terms in titles or descriptions.

getVisitorCenters

Get information about visitor centers, including locations, hours, and contact details, optionally filtered by parkCode.

getCampgrounds

Return campground details, amenities, fees, and reservation information, optionally filtered by parkCode.

getEvents

Find upcoming park events with dates, times, and descriptions, optionally filtered by parkCode and date ranges.