2020’s Free Entrance Days in the National Parks

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Our national park system has 419 amazing national parks and other units.  Thankfully only about a quarter of those parks require an entrance fee**. National Park entrance fees range widely from $5 per person to $35 for a car full of people.  Each year, National Park Service does a five National Parks fee-free days.  On these days, NPS offers free entrance to national parks to everyone who shows up.

There at National Parks in all 50 states and many of the territories.  These parks can range from small historical sites to the massive national parks.  It doesn’t matter where in the United States you live, you are within a couple of hours drive of a National Park Service site.  Even if the park is normally fee, check the park’s website for any special events on these days.

The national parks tend to be the crowdest during these times and if you are looking to explore the parks more than on the free entrance days, consider getting the America the Beautiful Annual Pass. This Pass is $80 and covers entrance fees for the pass holder and up to three adults. The pass pays for itself in 3 national park visits.

2019 National Park Fee Free Days

• Monday, January 20, 2020 – Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Birthday
• Saturday, April 18, 2020 – First day of National Park Week
• Tuesday, August 25, 2020 – National Park Service Birthday
• Saturday, September 26, 2020 – National Public Lands Day
• Wednesday, November 11, 2020 – Veterans Day

As great as these fee-free days are, please consider leaving a small donation when you visit on these days.  Currently, the National Park Service has about 12 billion dollars in backlog maintenance.  This is money just to maintain the existing infrastructure of the parks, let alone doing anything like building visitor centers at a few of the new sites.  It is estimated the fee-free days cost NPS about a half-million dollars per day.

If you are working on visiting all 61 National Parks be sure to get your free National Park Checklist.

National Parks Participating in Free National Park Day

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Alaska

• Denali National Park & Preserve
  • Learn more about Denali National Park

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
  • All about 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
• Hovenweep National Monument
• Mesa Verde National Park
• Rocky Mountain National Park

Florida

• Canaveral National Seashore
• Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
• Dry Tortugas National Park
  • All about 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
  • All about Yellowstone National Park

Maine

• Acadia National Park
  • Learn more about 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

• Isle Royale National Park
• 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
• Gateway Arch National Park (formerly Jefferson National Expansion Memorial)
• Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield

Montana

• Glacier National Park
• Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
• Yellowstone National Park
  • All about 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

• Bandelier National Monument
• Capulin Volcano National Monument
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park
• Chaco Culture National Historical Park
• Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
• Valles Caldera National Preserve
• 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

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
  • All about 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
• Hovenweep National Monument
• 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
  • Learn more about Mount Rainier National Park
• Olympic National Park

West Virginia

• Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Wyoming

• Devils Tower National Monument
• Grand Teton National Park
  • Learn more about Grand Teton National Park
• Yellowstone National Park
  • All about Yellowstone National Park