In 2020, the Michael W Travels family visited a couple of US National Parks we hadn’t been to before.
We loved exploring Acadia NP in Maine and enjoyed (but weren’t overly impressed with) Great Smokey Mountains NP, located in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Visiting National Parks in the US isn’t always free but they are reasonably priced. Entrance fees can range from $5-$35 for around 100 parks while the other 300 or so, do not charge a fee.
Back in December, the National Parks Service website (NPS.gov) announced free entrance days for the parks in 2021!
This year, there will be six free entrance days. NPS.gov says that, “the fee-free days are part of the Administration’s unprecedented commitment to increase access, promote recreational opportunities, improve visitor facilities and conserve natural and historical treasures in national parks for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people.”
Here are the US National Parks Free Days for 2021:
- Monday, January 18 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Saturday, April 17 – First Day of National Park Week
- Wednesday, August 4 – One year anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
- Wednesday, August 25 – National Park Service Birthday
- Saturday, September 25 – National Public Lands Day
- Thursday, November 11 – Veterans Day
We’re hoping to get to some parks in 2021 that we haven’t been to but I’m not so sure that it would be during the free days. If we don’t get to travel internationally in 2021, then it’s possible that we might take advantage of a free day or two over the summer.
Do you plan your National Parks visits around the Free Days?
Find out more from NPS.gov here.
Also, make sure to check various US State Park websites. We just went to Grand Canyon State Park and they were allowing any 4th or 5th graders free entrance. Our son is a 5th grader so it was a nice surprise.
You know I often wonder why US Citizens would have to pay to use a park that we already pay for through taxes. I guess it’s kind of like paying to park on the street.