The Caribbean National Forest, Puerto Rico’s Oldest Park
A forest doesn’t immediately come to mind when thinking of the islands of the Caribbean Sea, so the name “Caribbean National Forest” may sound somewhat odd. Get past this impression, however, and you’ll find that you CAN see the forest for the trees! Puerto Rico’s Caribbean National Forest is indeed a very special place, and the world owes Spain’s King Alfonso XII a debt of gratitude for establishing the park in 1876. It was only 12 years earlier, in 1872, that the very first national park in the United States (Yellowstone National Park) was created by an act of Congress.
