National Parks Waive Entrance Fees on Veterans Day, the Last Fee-Free Day of 2026
Americans hoping for an autumn day in a national park can save the entrance fee next Wednesday. On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, every National Park Service site that charges an entrance fee will waive it, the last of ten fee-free days on the 2026 calendar.
According to the National Park Service, the 2026 fee-free days span ten dates across eight occasions, from Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, and the Independence Day weekend to the agency's 110th birthday, Constitution Day, and Theodore Roosevelt's birthday, with Veterans Day closing the list. About 106 of the more than 400 park sites normally charge entrance fees. The waiver covers entrance only; camping, tours, and timed-entry reservation fees still apply.
One rule is new this year: fee-free admission applies to U.S. citizens and residents. Nonresidents pay the regular entrance fee, and at 11 of the most popular parks, Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Everglades, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion, visitors aged 16 and older also pay a $100 per-person nonresident surcharge. A $250 Non-Resident Annual Pass covers that surcharge.
Veterans and Gold Star families never need to wait for a fee-free day: a free Military Lifetime Pass covers entrance year-round at national parks and other federal recreation lands, and current service members and dependents qualify for a free Military Annual Pass. (Source: National Park Service)
Source: National Park Service
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：优胜美地国家公园隧道观景点（资料图）。David Iliff 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Tunnel View, Yosemite Valley. By David Iliff, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
