Particle.news
Download on the App Store
8 ARTICLES
·
2h ago

National Parks Drop MLK Day and Juneteenth From 2026 Free Days, Add Flag Day

The schedule accompanies an 'America-first' access plan that introduces digital passes for residents alongside higher fees for foreign visitors.

FILE: Hot Springs National Park was established in 1921, shown here in Hot Springs, Ark., on April 22, 2005. 
File photo: Yosemite National Park with granite mountains El Capitan and Half Dome.
A park ranger leads a tour at the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta. 
People view the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial before Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., in 2025. 

Overview

  • The Department of the Interior and National Park Service released the 2026 fee-free list that removes Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth and adds Flag Day on June 14.
  • Other free-entry dates are Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day weekend (July 3–5), the National Park Service’s 110th birthday, Constitution Day, Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday, and Veterans Day.
  • Starting in 2026, fee-free days apply only to U.S. citizens and residents, according to the National Park Service.
  • New access changes include digital America the Beautiful passes and differentiated pricing: $80 annual for Americans, $250 for nonresidents, and a $100-per-person charge at 11 top parks for foreign visitors without an annual pass.
  • Civil-rights and conservation groups criticized dropping MLK Day and Juneteenth as exclusionary, and DOI/NPS have not provided a substantive explanation for the omissions.