Get the popcorn ready. Ken Burns's much anticipated The National Parks: America's Best Idea premieres tonight — Sunday, September 27 — at 8 p.m. (ET/PT) on PBS. The 12-hour, six-episode series will run nightly through Friday, October 2.

Directed by Burns and written and co-produced by Dayton Duncan, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, was filmed over the course of more than six years at some of the most spectacular locales — from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades of Florida to the Gates of the Arctic in Alaska to Mount Rainier (above). It's not only a story of nature, but also of people, rich and poor; famous and unknown; soldiers and scientists; natives and newcomers; idealists, artists and entrepreneurs; people who were willing to devote themselves to saving some precious portion of the land they loved.

If you can't watch episodes during PBS's nightly 8-10 p.m. time slot, don't worry. Full episodes of The National Parks: America's Best Idea will be available online beginning September 28, and will remain available online through October 9.

PBS site: The National Parks: America’s Best Idea