How to visit US National Parks FOR FREE – 6 Free Days in 2024!
Did you know that there are 6-days every year that the Department of Interior waves entry fees to all National Parks? That’s a savings of $20 to $35! Yep, any National Park that you want to go to is fee-free to see! From Joshua Tree in California to Acadia in Maine, get out there and explore!
How much does it cost to visit a US National Park?
Most national parks are always free to enter. Only about 100 of the 400+ national parks have an entrance fee. For parks with an entrance fee, the cost ranges from $5 to $35 and the money remains in the National Park Service, with 80-100% staying in the park where collected. The funds are used to enhance the visitor experience by providing programs and services, habitat restoration, and infrastructure maintenance and repair.
The fee waiver for the fee-free days applies only to National Park Service entrance fees and does not cover amenity or user fees for camping, boat launches, transportation, special tours, or other activities.
Detailed information about what there is to see and do at each park is available on NPS.gov or the NPS app. It is important for people to know before they go what is open and available, especially if interested in overnight accommodations. If you want even more information, check out our US National Park blogs, as of today (August 2, 2023) we’ve been to 28 National Parks and will be finishing up our trip to all 63 National Parks over the next few months.
Come experience the national parks! On six days in 2024, all National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone.
Entrance fee–free dates in 2024
- January 15: Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- April 20: First day of National Park Week
- June 19: Juneteenth National Independence Day
- August 4: Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
- September 28: National Public Lands Day
- November 11: Veterans Day
Visiting a National Park for the first time?
We put together a blog post that highlights everything that we do as we prepare to visit a new National Park. This guide gives you key tips, links, and. tools to help you successfully plan your first National Park. Click here to read more!
Passport Stamps… in a National Park?
The Passport program began in 1986 to help visitors discover the beauty and history found in America’s national parks. Free cancellation ink stamps can be found at most national park areas. These rubber-stamp ink markings record the name of the park and the date of your visit.
Make sure to have a National Park Passport Book to house all your stamps. There are many to choose from, here are some of our favorites! Passport Book 1, Passport Book 2, and Passport Book 3.
How do you dress when visiting a National Park?
What you wear is dependent on where you are going and more importantly what time of the year you are going. Here are some of our favorite jackets, hats, globes, and more: Click here!
Did you know there is a National Park App?
Did you know the National Park Service has an app? It does and it has saved us more times than we can count. Make sure to download it before you get to the park and plan out your trip!
Want more National Park Tips, Tricks, and Itineraries?
As we are making our way to all 63 US National Parks in 2023-2024, we’ve been documenting everything! From where we stayed, what we ate, what we did, weather, and so much more! Check out all of our National Park blog posts.
What camera equipment should I bring?
We are huge camera nerds. Maybe Joey is a bit more than Katie, but we both love cameras and love photography and videography. So we might go a little “extra” when it comes to what we purchase but we want to shoot the best quality content for you all to enjoy. Click here to learn more!
Do you need more help?
We’ve been to 30+ National Parks together and by the end of 2024, we will have visited all 63 US National Parks.
If you are stuck and don’t know where to start, we are your guide to planning the perfect National Park Trip. From simple road trips to Joshua Tree in California to extensive planning to visit the Alaska National Parks, we are your trusted guides. Message us for rates!
