Plan Your National Park Trips Around These Scheduled Fee Free Entry Dates

These fee free entry dates are the perfect days to build your trip around to see a national park in 2025.

Guests could hike Bright Angel Trail during free time at Grand Canyon National Park / Eve Chen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Planning a trip to see one of the many national parks around the United States takes a lot of preparation. There are so many different places to choose from, finding the ideal one for you will take a little bit of time.

With 2024 winding down, there is no better time to begin those preparations for 2025 than now. An ideal time to build your vacation around is the free entry dates that the National Park Service has recently announced.

This is an ideal opportunity for anyone who has been wanting to visit a national park but couldn’t make it happen to do so. The free entry days make things easier on everyone regardless of the kind of trip you are looking to take.

When are these days in 2025?

The first opportunity to gain free entry into parks is on January 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It might be cool at some of the parks along the East Coast and mountains in the West, but fewer crowds means more opportunities to explore without too much hustle and bustle.

On April 19th everyone will gain free access to kick off National Park Week. That Wednesday is the first day of the celebrations.

June 19, which is now Juneteenth National Independence Day, is the third opportunity people will have to gain free access to national parks around the country. Later in the summer, on August 4, the Great American Outdoors Act Signing Day will be recognized with free entry.

In the fall, National Public Lands Day on September 27 and Veterans Day on November 11 will be the last two days of the year that entry fees are waived at the parks.

When planning your trip, there is plenty to consider beyond just the entry fees. That is just the first step, and an important one, because if you visit a park and don’t have a pass, you will not be able to enter.

Out of the more than 430 parks nationwide, just about 100 of them don’t have an entrance fee normally.

If you are planning more than a day trip, make sure reservations are made for lodging and plan ahead; the space in more popular parks will be filled up quickly and you don’t want to miss out on the perfect trip because of it!

Make sure you are prepared for the trip with the essential materials, such as water, clothing that is appropriate for whatever region you are in and maps so that you don’t get lost while exploring. Better safe than sorry, as overpreparing is better than being underprepared and putting yourself or your traveling party in harm’s way.