Here is when you can go to national parks free this spring

Entrance fees will be waived to mark the start of National Park Week.

Apr 15, 2025 - 18:11

Here is when you can go to national parks free this spring

While Presidents Ulysses S. Grant and Woodrow Wilson envisioned the national parks system as being free and accessible to all, visitors do need to pay something for the privilege.

National parks such as Acadia, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Sequoia all charge an entrance fee to vehicles driving in. The only way to avoid it is to come by bicycle or get dropped off by a car that does not stop inside the park.

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What is National Park Week, and what is free?

There are, however, certain dates of the year when those entrance fees are waived. The first day of free entrance in 2025 was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in January, while the next one is coming up to mark the start of National Park Week: Saturday, April 19.

"Love national parks?" the NPS writes on its website to mark the nine-day period during which it promotes the 63 national parks and hundreds of monuments across the country. "There's a holiday for that! Join us for National Park Week happening April 19 to April 27 to celebrate everything 'parks.' There are more than 400 national parks of different shapes, sizes, and kinds to experience."

While the entrance fee is waived only on the Saturday (and, traditionally, the parks get especially busy on that day), the rest of the week will celebrate by holding a number of activities and performances.

These include the National Junior Ranger Day for kids at different parks across the country on April 19, as well as cave tours in Mammoth Cave, bird tours at Everglades, and geology talks at Grand Canyon throughout the week.

A full list of activities is available on the NPS website and can be searched by date, park, and one's state. The next days on which entrance fees will be waived will be Juneteenth on June 19 and the Great American Outdoors Act Signing Day on August 4.

Grand Canyon is one of the country's most recognized and frequently visited national parks.
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NPS urges visitors to 'look around, find national landmarks near you'

"Look around your community to learn how National Park Service programs and partners are involved in your community," the NPS writes further. "Find national historic landmarks or national natural landmarks near you."

More on national parks:

Exact entrance fees vary greatly depending on both the park itself and the time of year when one plans to visit them — some do not charge entrance fees at all, while others, like Glacier in Montana, charge a $20 entrance pass even for those who are coming in without a vehicle.

The standard for a vehicle pass charged by parks like Yosemite, Acadia, Arches, Grand Canyon, and Everglades is $30 per vehicle. Many of the same parks also require reservations during peak visiting period from late spring to early fall. This comes with an additional nominal fee of a few dollars for processing the online booking.

For those coming to a park regularly or planning to go through several on a wider tour, annual passes can cost as little as $40 for a single park or $80 for a country-wide pass.