It’s time to experience the national parks!
Discover America’s Story
National parks are America’s best idea, and there are more than 400 parks available to everyone, every day. The fee-free days provide a great opportunity to visit a new place or an old favorite, especially one of the national parks that normally charge an entrance fee. On four days in 2018, all National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone. The free days will apply at the 118 of the 417 national parks that charge for admission. The others are free all the time. The entrance fee waiver for fee-free days does not cover amenity or user fees for activities such as camping, boat launches, transportation, or special tours. The National Park Service is reducing the number of fee-free days from 10 in 2017 to four this year in an effort to address an $11 billion maintenance backlog.
Mark your calendar for these entrance fee-free dates in 2018:
January 15: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
April 21: First day of National Park Week
September 22: National Public Lands Day
November 11: Veterans Day
The annual $80 America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass allows unlimited entrance to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including all national parks that normally charge an entrance fee. There are also free or discounted passes available for senior citizens, current members of the military, families of fourth-grade students, and disabled citizens. Learn more about the variety of passes offered by the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass series.
Free Entrance Days – Participating Parks (By State)
Parks listed below waive their entrance fees on nationally designated fee-free dates. Please check with each park for operating hours and event schedules.
Alaska
Denali National Park & Preserve
Arizona
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Grand Canyon National Park
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Petrified Forest National Park
Pipe Spring National Monument
Saguaro National Park
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Tonto National Monument
Tumacácori National Historical Park
Tuzigoot National Monument
Walnut Canyon National Monument
Wupatki National Monument
Arkansas
Fort Smith National Historic Site
Pea Ridge National Military Park
California
Cabrillo National Monument
Death Valley National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lava Beds National Monument
Muir Woods National Monument
Pinnacles National Park
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
Yosemite National Park
Colorado
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Colorado National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve
Mesa Verde National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park
Florida
Canaveral National Seashore
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
Dry Tortugas National Park
Everglades National Park
Gulf Islands National Seashore
Georgia
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
Cumberland Island National Seashore
Fort Pulaski National Monument
Hawai’i
Haleakalā National Park
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park
Idaho
Craters of the Moon National Monument & Preserve
Yellowstone National Park
Maine
Acadia National Park
Maryland
Antietam National Battlefield
Assateague Island National Seashore
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
Fort Washington Park
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Massachusetts
Adams National Historical Park
Cape Cod National Seashore
Michigan
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Minnesota
Pipestone National Monument
Mississippi
Gulf Islands National Seashore
Vicksburg National Military Park
Missouri
Harry S. Truman National Historic Site
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield
Montana
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Glacier National Park
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Yellowstone National Park
Nebraska
Scotts Bluff National Monument
Nevada
Death Valley National Park
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
New Hampshire
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site
New Jersey
Thomas Edison National Historical Park
New Mexico
Aztec Ruins National Monument
Bandelier National Monument
Capulin Volcano National Monument
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
White Sands National Monument
New York
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site
North Carolina
Wright Brothers National Memorial
North Dakota
Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Ohio
James A. Garfield National Historic Site
Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial
Oklahoma
Fort Smith National Historic Site
Oregon
Crater Lake National Park
Lewis & Clark National Historical Park
Pennsylvania
Steamtown National Historic Site
Puerto Rico
San Juan National Historic Site
South Carolina
Fort Sumter National Monument
South Dakota
Badlands National Park
Jewel Cave National Monument
Tennessee
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
Texas
Big Bend National Park
Fort Davis National Historic Site
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Padre Island National Seashore
Utah
Arches National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Capitol Reef National Park
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Golden Spike National Historic Site
Natural Bridges National Monument
Zion National Park
Virgin Islands
Christiansted National Historic Site
Virginia
Assateague Island National Seashore
Colonial National Historical Park
George Washington Memorial Parkway’s Great Falls Park
Prince William Forest Park
Shenandoah National Park
Washington
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Lewis & Clark National Historical Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Olympic National Park
West Virginia
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Wyoming
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Devils Tower National Monument
Grand Teton National Park
Yellowstone National Park
I’d love to take a trip to see a lot of the National Parks. I think that would be a fun trip.
Sweet, in canada there is similar events to these free park entrances too.
With the entrance fee’s doubled in 2017 this is a really nice list and a way to plan on seeing mother’s nature’s work up close without breaking the budget!
This is a handy little list! I’ve had my eye on Cumberland island for a long time and this might be my chance!
Thank you for posting this! I’d love to get to some of these this year. Our national parks are a treasure. I hope everyone gets to enjoy them for generations to come!
Good to know these dates so we can plan our vacations accordingly!