Icons + Artifacts: National Park Service Flat Hat

Let’s say you’re a kid. You’re a kid visiting a U.S. national park and you have an interaction with a ranger. What are you gonna remember about that ranger, in your mind’s eye? Probably the hat. The hat with the broad brim and dimpled peak and cool leather band. And let’s say your dream is to become a national park ranger and that dream comes true. What’s the one thing you put on, look in the mirror, and say to yourself, “I did it, I’m a ranger”? It’s not the snazzy green pants. It’s the hat.

For good reason: The National Park Service flat hat has been part of the ranger uniform since 1911, when the U.S. Army was in charge of parks, and, dare we say, it’s even more iconic than the Forest Service’s Smokey Bear (who of course is wearing the hat). It signals knowledge and expertise. It hints at all the rangers