If your 2026 travel plans include one or more visits to National Parks, be sure to consult the National Park Service website before hitting the road.
That way, you may be able to take advantage of the reshuffled schedule of free admission days as well as some of the special park programming planned for the 250th Anniversary of American Independence.
Free National Park admission days are a bit different in 2026
Most National Parks, monuments and historic sites are free year round. But those that do charge an entrance fee will off free admission on a handful of days in 2026, although fees for ‘extras’ such as timed entry or reservation fees, may still apply.
Here are the free days for 2026:
- February 16: Presidents Day (Washington’s Birthday)
- May 25: Memorial Day
- June 14: Flag Day (Trump’s Birthday too.)
- July 3–5: Independence Day weekend
- August 25: 110th Birthday of the National Park Service
- September 17: Constitution Day
- October 27: Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday
- November 11: Veterans Day
While June 14 – Flag Day – has been added to the list, Martin Luther King Jr. Day (recognized this year on January 19) and Juneteenth (June 19) are no longer on the free admission day calendar. Nor are several other days entry fees have regularly been waived, incuding Great American Outdoors Day, National Public Lands Day and several others.
Another change to the free entrance days program for 2026 is that the fees will be waived for US citizens and residents only.
The U.S. goverment will now charge nonresidents entrance fees and any applicable non-resident fees year-round.
And the fees non-residents will be asked to pay to visit Natonal Parks and other federally managed land is going up – way up – in 2026.
While US residents can purchase an annual pass for $80, international visitors must now pay $250 for a non-resident annual pass.
See all the National Park Service website for a full list of fees, passes and scheduled free admission free days.
(Courtesy Library of Congress)
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