No more free Park Service parks on MLK Day and Juneteenth.

[hardcorestitch]

In its place, the free days will be June 14 (the current president’s birthday), July 4, and the NPS’ 110th anniversary.

 

[Nayan]

From what I've read it's more about annual passes than day passes, so who knows how those are going to be handled or if ID will need to be shown for everyone buying a day/week pass.

 

[irlandaise]

From what I've read it's more about annual passes than day passes, so who knows how those are going to be handled or if ID will need to be shown for everyone buying a day/week pass.

It's both. Yes, non-resident annual passes are going up a lot to $250, but also: "Nonresidents without an annual pass will pay a $100 per person fee to enter 11 of the most visited national parks, in addition to the standard entrance fee."

https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/d...dernized-more-affordable-national-park-access

Those parks are: Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Everglades , Glacier, Grand Canyon , Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain , Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion.

Note that unlike many national park entrance fees, which are charged per car, that $100 is per person. So if a non-resident family wanted to visit, for example, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Yellowstone—a very popular combination for people doing a one-time trip to the American West—they're going to have to get annual passes or end up paying $300/person just for those three parks.

Local tourist officials near Yosemite estimate that about 25% of that park's visitors are not U.S. residents, and there's a high percentage at many other popular parks, too, so it's a big question what these fees might do to the local economies if they discourage non-U.S. visitors.

 

[hardcorestitch]

It's both. Yes, non-resident annual passes are going up a lot to $250, but also: "Nonresidents without an annual pass will pay a $100 per person fee to enter 11 of the most visited national parks, in addition to the standard entrance fee."

https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/d...dernized-more-affordable-national-park-access

Those parks are: Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Everglades , Glacier, Grand Canyon , Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain , Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion.

Note that unlike many national park entrance fees, which are charged per car, that $100 is per person. So if a non-resident family wanted to visit, for example, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Yellowstone—a very popular combination for people doing a one-time trip to the American West—they're going to have to get annual passes or end up paying $300/person just for those three parks.

Local tourist officials near Yosemite estimate that about 25% of that park's visitors are not U.S. residents, and there's a high percentage at many other popular parks, too, so it's a big question what these fees might do to the local economies if they discourage non-U.S. visitors.

Yup, 2026 is gonna be another lobby for local tourism around the world, even in the US. This is definitely not the decade to do international travel unless it’s a dire emergency. Thank goodness the nonresident fees don’t apply to me as a US citizen.

 

[irlandaise]

In its place, the free days will be June 14 (the current president’s birthday), July 4, and the NPS’ 110th anniversary.

For reference, here were the 2024 and 2025 free days:

https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/national-park-service-announces-entrance-fee-free-days-for-2024.htm

https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/start-planning-your-2025-national-park-trip.htm

So there will actually be more free days in 2026...

I'm actually surprised that NPS's anniversary (August 25th) hasn't been on the schedule recently. They had a four-day celebration of their 100th anniversary in 2016 and kept a one-day free day for a while after that, but I guess they dropped it at some point. So the number of free days has fluctuated from year to year.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

I love the US National Parks, but I'm not going to risk planning any major travel around them anytime soon. There could be another shutdown coming up since they have only until January something to pass a budget. And then with the recent park service firings, they're likely going to be less maintained or have sporadic closures, since they were understaffed already even before all of that.

In contrast, this past year, Canada's national parks were fee-free for everyone ... citizens and foreign visitors. We really enjoyed Prince Edward Island National Park. I'm not sure if they are continuing the fee-free policy, but it sounded like it was very good for tourism dollars last year.

 

[Nayan]

I love the US National Parks, but I'm not going to risk planning any major travel around them anytime soon. There could be another shutdown coming up since they have only until January something to pass a budget. And then with the recent park service firings, they're likely going to be less maintained or have sporadic closures, since they were understaffed already even before all of that.

I had been planning to visit a few National Parks, but too much uncertainty with what may happen has made us switch to State Parks and other natural attractions (botanical gardens, zoos/aquariums, etc.).

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

Kind of odd that MLK/Juneteenth were free days prior as they really didn't have anything to do with the NPS. The list of free days is fairly short and those didn't seem like dates that should be put ahead of some others.

I really like that Teddy Roosevelt's birthday (October 27th) was added in 2026. He deserves recognition for his contributions to the park service.

 

[irlandaise]

Kind of odd that MLK/Juneteenth were free days prior as they really didn't have anything to do with the NPS. The list of free days is fairly short and those didn't seem like dates that should be put ahead of some others.

Historically, Black Americans have been very underrepresented in visitation to NPS sites, especially the ones far from cities. (Which are also the major ones that have entrance fees.) I expect that NPS was trying to encourage more Black families to visit their parks.

I really like that Teddy Roosevelt's birthday (October 27th) was added in 2026. He deserves recognition for his contributions to the park service.

Yes, nice to see his birthday recognized in this way.

 

[jdb in AZ]

Update on Fees: Yes, they will be checking I.D. for everyone 16 and older.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/ne...ar&cvid=b44a3362509d4ed0b65a9a4a5e08b3cc&ei=7

 

[hardcorestitch]

Update on Fees: Yes, they will be checking I.D. for everyone 16 and older.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/ne...ar&cvid=b44a3362509d4ed0b65a9a4a5e08b3cc&ei=7

So what about the folks who paid the $100 nonresident fee? Are their foreign government issued IDs going to be void?

 

[tvguy]

We bought a Lifetime Senior Pass for $80 when we retired. So we will avoid the free days as they will be more crowded.

 

[kanne323]

In contrast, this past year, Canada's national parks were fee-free for everyone ... citizens and foreign visitors. We really enjoyed Prince Edward Island National Park. I'm not sure if they are continuing the fee-free policy, but it sounded like it was very good for tourism dollars last year.

Hmm, I definitely paid to get into Fundy National Park a few months ago. Were the parks free on specific days, or maybe just PEI?

It was significantly cheaper than any American national park I've been to, but it wasn't free.

 

[jalapeno_pretzel]

Hmm, I definitely paid to get into Fundy National Park a few months ago. Were the parks free on specific days, or maybe just PEI?

It was significantly cheaper than any American national park I've been to, but it wasn't free.

I just looked it up, looks like it was all parks, but just the summer season and not the full year - June 20 - September 2nd. They're getting ready to have another fee-free period Dec 12 - Jan 15th.

 

[bcla]

Kind of odd that MLK/Juneteenth were free days prior as they really didn't have anything to do with the NPS. The list of free days is fairly short and those didn't seem like dates that should be put ahead of some others.

I really like that Teddy Roosevelt's birthday (October 27th) was added in 2026. He deserves recognition for his contributions to the park service.

There were national holidays. Flag Day is not a national holiday.

Several NPS sites were created for the legacy of MLK.

https://www.nps.gov/malu/index.htm
https://www.nps.gov/mlkm/index.htm
https://www.nps.gov/semo/index.htm

 

[bcla]

We bought a Lifetime Senior Pass for $80 when we retired. So we will avoid the free days as they will be more crowded.

Used to be $10. I remember going on a trip with my parents where I pulled out the money to pay for their passes. Got my mom's first in anticipation of a big trip. Then later on the trip got one for my dad when we went in without my mom. Figured it would be a good thing. But later on my mom couldn't find hers (found it later) so I got her a new one. But that was the newer design. The old one was kind of plain looking. Not sure how to describe it other than it was light brown and had an illustration of a bird, that was the symbol for federal fee areas. Having a hard time finding an image, but this looks like it in black.

Theirs included all the big agencies - National Park Service, Forest Service, BLM. But it also listed the Tennessee Valley Authority.

 

[Starport Seven-Five]

There were national holidays. Flag Day is not a national holiday.

They are but I am not seeing why that qualifies them. There are 11 federal holidays while the NPS had 6 free days in 2025 (half of which were not federal holidays).

On six days in 2025, Denali and all National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone. Mark your calendar for these entrance-fee-free dates in 2025 and come explore your national parks:

• Monday, January 20: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
• Saturday, April 19: First day of National Park Week
• Thursday, June 19: Juneteenth
• Monday, August 4: Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
• Saturday, September 27: National Public Lands Day
• Tuesday, November 11: Veterans Day

Several NPS sites were created for the legacy of MLK.

https://www.nps.gov/malu/index.htm
https://www.nps.gov/mlkm/index.htm
https://www.nps.gov/semo/index.htm

While they have sites I am not seeing anything that requires an admission charge.