Grand Canyon National Park
Jacobs Stock Photography | Photodisc | Getty Images
The National Park Service is offering free admission to U.S. national parks on six days in 2024.
There are greater than 400 national parks within the U.S. Most of them offer free entrance on a regular basis.
Nonetheless, 109 parks don’t — including among the hottest, like Grand Canyon, Zion, Rocky Mountain, Acadia, Yosemite, Yellowstone, Joshua Tree and Glacier national parks.
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Their entrance fees typically range from $20 to $35 per vehicle. (Some may charge per person as an alternative of per vehicle, and there might also be different fees for motorcycles.)
All parks that generally charge an entrance fee will waive them on the next days next yr:
- Jan. 15: Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.
- April 20: First day of National Park Week.
- June 19: Juneteenth.
- Aug. 4: Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act.
- Sept. 28: National Public Lands Day
- Nov. 11: Veterans Day
It could make sense to purchase an annual pass
Grand Prismatic Spring, Yellowstone National Park.
Ignacio Palacios | Stone | Getty Images
Even for those who’re planning to go to a park during one in all the 2024 free entrance days, it could make financial sense to purchase an annual pass ahead of your trip, depending on the itinerary, said Mary Cropper, travel advisor and senior U.S. specialist at Audley Travel.
The $80 annual pass grants unlimited entrance to national parks and other federal recreation areas. (Some groups can get reduced-price and even free annual passes.)
For instance, a pass would likely be a greater option for those who plan to go to multiple parks in a single trip — during which case you could find yourself paying the usual entrance fee for every park (outside of the free day), Cropper said.
“You should do the mathematics,” she said.
It’s possible you’ll also need a separate reservation
Yosemite National Park.
Kenny Mccartney | Moment | Getty Images
There have been nearly 312 million visits to national parks in 2022. While not a record — that title belongs to 2016, the yr of the National Park Service centennial — visitation is up about 10% within the last decade.
Many parks broke visitor records within the pandemic era as Americans sought domestic outdoor trips resulting from health fears and closed international borders.
“National parks are only booming without delay,” Cropper said. “I believe we’ll be witnessing entrance levels climbing.”
Apart from a normal entrance pass, some parks may require a separate reservation to enter in 2024. Those online reservations generally carry a fee of $2 or more.
For instance, Yosemite recently announced that visitors might want to buy an advance reservation for weekends from April 13 through June 30, and Aug. 17 through Oct. 27, including holidays. They may also need one on daily basis from July 1 through Aug. 16.
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