National Parks Are Offering Free Entry on Veterans Day—Here’s How to Plan Your Visit
Make your reservation now.
Thomas J. Story
If you’ve been putting off a national park trip, Wednesday, November 11, is your last chance to skip the entrance fee in 2026. On Veterans Day, the National Park Service waives entrance fees at every site that normally charges one. It is the final fee-free day on this year’s calendar, and the ideal way to not only celebrate our country’s veterans, but usher in a new season.
It’s important to note that the waiver covers entrance fees only. Timed entry, vehicle reservations, camping, and tours can still cost extra, so check your park’s page on nps.gov before you go. New this year, fee-free days apply only to U.S. citizens and residents, and nonresidents pay the regular fee. Visitors 16 and older should bring ID.
California has plenty of fee-charging parks worth the drive, including Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Death Valley, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon. And we couldn’t think of a more romantic time to visit, with the leaves changing colors and crowds having thinned from the summer months. Plus, there have been some pretty cool openings as of late in the area, including Autocamp Sequoia, which recently launched their dreamy Sounds Outside series.
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If you’re up for a longer road trip, Arizona’s Chiricahua National Park is the newest in the system. It became the 64th national park late last month, and the fourth in Arizona. First protected as a national monument in 1924, the southeastern Arizona site is known for towering rhyolite rock spires and is already an International Dark Sky Park. The redesignation changes the name, not the boundaries.
The holiday honors those who served, and the park system does a lot of that work year-round. For veterans, the perk doesn’t stop at one day. U.S. military veterans and Gold Star families get free admission to national parks and other federal recreation areas all year, including wildlife refuges and sites managed by the Forest Service and the Army Corps of Engineers.
And of course, if one day leaves you wanting more, the America the Beautiful annual pass costs $80 and covers more than 2,000 federal recreation areas for a year. It would make an excellent holiday gift. Just sayin’.