The United States has some of the most scenic topography in the world. To preserve the diversification of natural settings around the vastness of this country, a system of national parks was created in 1916 currently known as the National Park Service, which is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior.
Free Entry Into National Parks 2023 in the United States for Certain Days
Some of the more famous parks and monuments under the auspices of the National Park Service include Yellowstone National Park in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho — considered the first official national park in the world when it was established in 1872 and known for its geysers and abundant wildlife; Yosemite National Park in California, with its giant sequoia trees; Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina; the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island in New York, where you can once again visit the crown; and Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
At one time, access to these treasures of the United States covering greater than 84 million acres of land and 4.5 million acres of water was free of charge — but the National Park Service started to charge entrance fees a number of years ago to cover costs. The entrance fees range in cost up to 35 dollars for seven days when entering via private vehicle — which is still considered a bargain.
The good news is that 316 of the 424 national park units have no entrance fees at all — ever — and the newest national park is the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia, which I visited back in 2019 before it officially became a part of the National Park Service.
…but the even better news is that there are times of the year where free access is available to those national parks which do charge an entrance fee. Here is the list of dates in 2023 when free access to all national parks is available, as officially announced by the National Park Service:
- January 16, 2023 Martin Luther King, Junior Day
- April 22, 2023 First day of National Park Week
- August 4, 2023 One year anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
- September 23, 2023 National Public Lands Day
- November 11, 2023 Veterans Day
Final Boarding Call
This is a list of the participating national parks whose entrance fees will be waived during the aforementioned list of days. Keep in mind that the fee waiver includes entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. Other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not included unless stated otherwise.
Also, the National Park Service is offering one fewer day this year, as in 2021, National Park Service Birthday on August 25 was celebrated as a free day — but not this year…
…and that is down from eight days with the admission fee waived, which was offered in 2015.
If you plan on visiting multiple national parks within one year, consider purchasing the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass for $80.00. Other passes are available as well.
Please see this article for additional information and photographs pertaining to the first part of my experience at Zion National Park in Utah. All photographs ©2020 by Brian Cohen.
