National Park Service Fee-Free Days

While you can access most of these for free every day, the National Park Service has entrance fees to just over 100 parks for maintaining the parks and preserving nature. But usually about 5 times a year, the National Park Service provides some free days. If your family is on a budget, these are some of the least expensive times to explore our National Parks.

The 2011 Fee-Free Days are as follows:

• January 15-17 for Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday weekend


• April 16-24 to celebrate National Park Week


• June 21 brings in the first day of summer


• September 24 to celebrate Public Lands Day


• November 11-13 to honor our Veterans

You can get the free Google Calendar with these days here.

If you are visiting the park outside of the free-days, you will have to pay a standard admission fee. The National Park fees range from $0 to $35, which will usually give you in and out privileges for a few days, depending on the Park.

If you frequent many National Parks, consider purchasing an annual pass, which will not only help support the National Park Service, but also provides you with unlimited admission to the National Parks across the United States. The National Park Service provides 3 different passes:

• The America the Beautiful Interagency Pass is $80 per year and is an amazing value for your family roadtrips. You can purchase these passes from many locations, including online at myscenicdrives.com.


• If you are disabled or over the age of 62 and qualify, the Senior or Access Pass provides you with the same access, but for a far lower fee.

While these passes only provide you with day-use access, some parks, such as the Tonto National Forest, require an upgrades to the America the Beautiful Pass which can extend the usefulness of the pass to more areas or features.

In other areas, upgrades extend the usefulness of the America the Beautiful Pass entirely. For example, in Oregon and Washington, a $20 upgrade extends the capability of the America the Beautiful for the State Parks. Especially for boat owners, this is an amazing value!

The easiest way to find a park is by visiting the nps.gov's Park Finder and searching by location. I'm sure that there'll be one right near you.

Some of the best ways to explore the National Parks is actually by planning a road trip that goes near a few National Parks, but the important part is to have fun and try something different. But be sure to Leave No Trace.

Explore the best of the United States through our National Parks and National Forests. Take advantage of the fee-free days or help support our National Parks and National Forests by purchasing passes.