Overview
- The Interior Department and National Park Service released the 2026 fee‑free schedule: Presidents’ Day (Feb 16), Memorial Day (May 25), Flag Day (June 14), Independence Day weekend (July 3–5), the NPS 110th birthday (Aug 25), Constitution Day (Sept 17), Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday (Oct 27), and Veterans Day (Nov 11).
- MLK Day had been fee‑free since 2018 and Juneteenth was added in 2024, with National Public Lands Day and the Great American Outdoors Act anniversary also removed from the 2026 roster.
- Advocacy groups and historians condemned the omissions as reducing access for Black communities and low‑income visitors, and the agencies did not respond to SFGATE’s questions about why MLK Day was dropped.
- Interior paired the announcement with new digital America the Beautiful passes and higher fees for nonresident visitors; Secretary Doug Burgum said the approach keeps U.S. entry affordable as international tourists contribute more, and People reported the passes feature portraits of President Trump and George Washington.
- The policy shift follows scrutiny of directives seen as policing “negative” history in parks, including report‑it signage at Manzanar and the removal of an exhibit at Muir Woods noted by SFGATE.