Come experience the national parks this year! National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone at all national parks throughout the United States. (Yes, you read that right).
So, plan a vacation day and mark your calendar for these entrance fee–free dates in 2020: (there are five each year but the Martin Luther King Day holiday one has already passed as this is brand new news to yours truly!).
- Saturday, April 18: First day of National Park Week
- Tuesday, August 25: National Park Service Birthday
- Saturday, September 26: National Public Lands Day
- Wednesday, November 11: Veterans Day
National parks are America’s best idea, and there are more than 400 parks available to everyone, every day. The fee-free days provide a great opportunity to visit a new place or an old favorite, especially one of the national parks that normally charge an entrance fee. The others are free all the time. The entrance fee waiver for fee-free days does not cover amenity or user fees for activities such as camping, boat launches, transportation, or special tours.
The annual $80 America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass allows unlimited entrance to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including all national parks that normally charge an entrance fee. There are also free or discounted passes available for senior citizens, current members of the military, families of fourth-grade students, and disabled citizens. Learn more about the variety of passes offered by the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass series.
This pertains to national historic sites (like Gettysburg), national seashores (you have to check out Sandy Hook in NE New Jersey…amazing!), and monuments.
Need more help in finding a park? Click here: https://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm
NATURE NUGGET: The National Park Service, or NPS, is a federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior. The U.S. Congress made Yellowstone America’s first national park in 1872. In the years that followed, environmentalists including John Muir lobbied for wilderness preservation throughout the American West with the creation of several more national parks and monuments. President Woodrow Wilson established the National Park Service on August 25, 1916 to consolidate management of America’s federal parklands under one agency. The National Park Service today manages 84 million acres across all U.S. states and territories, and has served as a model for countries around the world.
NATURE QUOTE:
“Porcupine Pat” McKinney is environmental education coordinator for the Schuylkill Conservation District and provides programming for people of all ages with an emphasis on schools, public programming and nature center development. “Porcupine Pat” hails from Marion, Ohio and has a BS with Distinction in Natural Resources – Environmental Interpretation from Ohio State. He is a recipient of the prestigious Sandy Cochran Award for Excellence in Natural Resources Education from the PA Forestry Association, the Schuylkill Pride Award, and the PAEE “Outstanding Environmental Educator Award.”
