Overview
- The 2026 resident-only free-entry dates are Presidents Day, Memorial Day, June 14 (Flag Day/Trump’s birthday), July 3–5, Aug. 25, Sept. 17, Oct. 27 and Nov. 11, according to the National Park Service.
- Nonresidents will pay $250 for an annual America the Beautiful pass and, without a pass, a $100 per-person surcharge at 11 major parks, with the changes taking effect Jan. 1, 2026.
- Martin Luther King Jr. Day, fee-free since 2018, and Juneteenth, added more recently, were removed from the calendar in favor of what the administration calls patriotic observances.
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said the approach keeps access affordable for U.S. taxpayers and asks international visitors to contribute their fair share to park upkeep.
- Civil-rights groups and Democratic lawmakers, including the NAACP and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, criticized the removals, and conservation advocates noted MLK Day has been a key community service day in parks.