Since the discovery of America, open space and freedom have been synonymous. Immigrants came to our shores and pioneers pushed west in search of one objective: land. By the latter half of the 19th century, with the end of the frontier in sight, the Federal government moved to reserve open space to preserve some measure of open space from settlement. In 1872 Yosemite became our first National Park. Today, one hundred years later, the National Park system and the nation which it serves have changed considerably. The Park Service, by virtue of the extent and location of its facilities, cannot provide open space recreation opportunities to the entire nation. At ‚best it can serve a portion of the population -- the portion with the education, resources, and mobility to gain access to and enjoy its unevenly scattered parks, monuments, and recreation areas. If we are to have a true National Park Service, we must go beyond the scope of the present system. This paper offers an analysis of the present open space recreation situation; it also contains suggestions for changes which would seem to remedy some of the shortcomings inherent in the present system.