Regardless of whether you’re aiming to visit one U.S. national park in your lifetime or your bucket list includes 10 of them, we have good news: Wednesday marks one of the free-entrance days, in honor of Veterans Day.
In fact, it’s the last fee-free day of the year.
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So if you can’t make it to one in time, text the person in your life who lives near Yosemite! 😉
#VeteransDay (that's tomorrow!) is the last fee free day of 2020.https://t.co/UR6dHYdbDq
— National Park Foundation (@NationalParkFdn) November 10, 2020
All national parks will waive entrance fees.
Some other free dates for 2020 included:
- Saturday, April 18 – First Day of National Park Week/National Junior Ranger Day
- Tuesday, August 25 – National Park Service Birthday
- Saturday, September 26 – National Public Lands Day
We’re still waiting on the free days of 2021 to be released.
There are 419 National Park Service sites, and of those, 110 typically charge an entrance fee, with costs ranging from $5 to $35, the NPS said.
The other 309 national parks don’t have entrance fees at all.
Just be aware, the entrance-fee waiver for the free days don’t cover amenity or user fees for things like camping, boat launches, transportation or special tours.
If you’re a frequent visitor to the parks, you can buy an annual $80 America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass, which allows unlimited entrance to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including all national parks.
There are also free or discounted passes available for senior citizens, active duty members of the U.S. military, families of fourth-grade students and people with disabilities.