GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK — As part of a spate of changes to national park entrance fees and passes, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced a new series of fee-free days for next year.
In 2026, there will be 10 days when national parks around the country will not charge entrance fees, but those eligible for free access will include only U.S. residents. In a Tuesday press release, DOI billed these days as “resident-only patriotic fee-free days.” The National Park Service states that nonresidents will pay the regular entrance fee and any applicable nonresident fees.
“Revenue generated from new fee policies will be invested directly back into America’s national parks,” reads the statement.
Traditionally, fee-free days are one of the ways DOI attempts to ensure that public lands are accessible to all. According to a blog post on DOI’s website from Jan. 20, 2025, “Each fee-free day commemorates a significant date to celebrate the public lands that the Department manages.”
Below is a list of the free entrance days for U.S. residents in 2026, according to DOI:
- Monday, Feb. 16: Presidents Day
- Sunday, May 31: Memorial Day
- Sunday, June 14: Flag Day/President Trump’s birthday
- Friday to Sunday, July 3 to 5: Independence Day weekend
- Tuesday, Aug. 25: 110th Birthday of the National Park Service
- Thursday, Sept. 17: Constitution Day
- Tuesday, Oct. 27: Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday
- Wednesday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day
Many days that were fee-free in 2024 and 2025 have been replaced by different days, including Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; the first day of National Park Week; Juneteenth; Great American Outdoors Day; and National Public Lands Day. In 2025, the Bureau of Land Management’s birthday and the first day of National Wildlife Refuge Week were also part of the free admission series.
