Free Entrance Days in the National Parks.

NPS/Dan Ng

Yosemite Falls is visible from numerous places around Yosemite Valley, especially around Yosemite Village and Yosemite Lodge. A one-mile loop trail leads to the base of Lower Yosemite Fall.

America's Best Idea – the national parks – gets even better with several fee-free days at more than 100 national parks that usually charge entrance fees.*

Mark your calendar for these fee-free days in 2011:
January 15-17 (Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday weekend)
April 16-24 (National Park Week)
June 21 (First day of summer)
September 24 (Public Lands Day)
November 11-13 (Veterans Day weekend)

Making the fun even more affordable, many national park concessioners are joining the National Park Service in welcoming visitors with their own special offers.

Here’s a tip – many of your 394 national parks NEVER charge an entrance fee. So start Planning Your Visit!

*Fee waiver includes: entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. Other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not included unless stated otherwise.

.

National Park Entrance fees waived on September 25

WASHINGTON – Come visit one of America’s 392 national parks on National Public Lands Day, September 25, 2010. All national parks are waiving entrance fees.

“I invite everyone to enjoy these special places,” said National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis. “National parks have contributed so much to me personally. Within their bounds, I’ve set off on adventures, relaxed in quiet solitude, and shared some unforgettable experiences with my wife and children. I encourage everyone to take advantage of the free entry on September 25. Bring your family and friends, and discover how America’s public lands can enrich your life.”

The national parks hold something for everyone—hardcore hikers and campers and people who like to explore history, take a leisurely nature walk, or simply pack a picnic lunch and get away from it all. In the parks, visitors of all abilities and interests can enjoy a day away, often without making more than a short trip from one of the population centers many of us call home.

For example:
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park offers residents of the Washington metropolitan area the chance to discover the Civil War and the build-up to this conflict.

New Yorkers can stroll and picnic in a landscape of woodlands and meadows, marsh and beach, at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site on Long Island.  For people who call Chicago or Gary, Ind., home, it’s not too late to build sand castles at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

At Bandelier National Monument, residents of Albuquerque and Santa Fe can climb wooden ladders and sit in cavates—tiny rooms carved into cliffs by Ancestral Pueblo people.  Folks in San Diego can get an up-close look at seastars, anemones, and other tidepool creatures at Cabrillo National Monument.

To discover many other activities available in national parks, please consult the National Park Service’s Events Calendar for 2010 (http://www.nps.gov/pwr/customcf/apps/eventcalendar/listing/event_list.cfm ). It’s not too early to start thinking about how to take advantage of the next time your national parks waive entrance fees—Veterans Day, November 11, the last of 2010’s fee-free days.  http://www.nps.gov/

Here are the Utah parks that are participating in these FEE FREE day:


Arches National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Capitol Reef National Park
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Golden Spike National Historic Site
Hovenweep National Monument
Natural Bridges National Monument
Zion National Park


The National Environmental Education Foundation, a Congressionally chartered complement to the Environmental Protection Agency, organizes National Public Lands Day every year. This annual event encourages stewardship and enjoyment of public lands. On National Public Lands Day, volunteers labor to conserve national, state, and local parks; national forests; and other lands that belong to the American people. In support of the effort to engage people in service and recreation on public lands, the National Park Service waives entrance fees on National Public Lands Day.


http://www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm

National Parks Offer Free Admission this Weekend

WASHINGTON – Free admission, warmer weather, longer days, and fewer crowds make this weekend a great time to visit a national park! To celebrate the coming of summer, the National Park Service is waiving entrance fees at all parks on June 5 & 6.

“National parks offer visitors great places to exercise their bodies and their minds- or just relax with family or friends,” said National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis. “Check out the birding caravan at Acadia in Maine or be part of the 50th anniversary celebration at Bent’s Old Fort in Colorado. Whatever your interests come on out this weekend and experience the best places that America has at the best price you’ll find - free!”

National Trails Day on June 5 is an opportune time to hike a portion of the 17,000 miles of trail located in national parks. Additionally, the National Park Service National Trails System manages more than 50,000 miles of historic and scenic trails of national importance, such as the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail and more than 1,000 national recreation trails of local or regional significance.

The National Park Service entrance fees will also be waived on August 14 & 15, September 25, and November 11, 2010. Fees for activities such as camping, reservations, tours, or concessions are not affected by the entrance fee waiver.

There are 147 parks that normally charge entrance fees ranging from $3 to $25. The other 245 national parks do not charge entrance fees, so you can plan inexpensive visits year round!

A Field Day for National Park Collectors

WASHINGTON – Pssst…philatelists, numismatists, parkies – you know who you are. National Park Week has good things in store for you.

If it’s the cha-ching of change or shiny, new things that capture you, check out the first coin in the America the Beautiful QuartersTM series, released in Arkansas. Hot Springs National Park graces this stunning quarter and blazes a beautiful trail for a Yellowstone National Park quarter in June, Yosemite National Park in July, and Grand Canyon National Park in September. You can purchase the coins from the United States Mint at http://www.usmint.gov/ .

Prefer your paraphernalia gummed and perforated? The Grandest Things: Our National Parks in Words, Images, and Stamps made its debut when Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, Postmaster General John E. Potter, and National Park Service Deputy Director Dan Wenk unveiled it at the Smithsonian’s Postal Museum. The 116-page hardcover book, produced by the U.S. Postal Service and the National Park Service is unique in its inclusion of both famous parks and smaller gems – plus, it includes nine mint stamps—including the 1972 Old Faithful, Yellowstone.

And, if all this isn’t enough to throw your collecting instinct into primal-overdrive – the United States Postal Service revealed Scenic American Landscapes premium stamped postcards in a first-day-of-issue-ceremony. The set of 20 stamped cards showcases 10 spectacular national park photographs originally featured on Scenic American Landscapes stamps issued over the past decade.

The Grandest Things and the Scenic American Landscapes postcards are available now at http://www.stampproducts.com/parksbook/  and soon at select national park bookstores.

Jon Jarvis, National Park Service Director said, “For people who love their parks or love collecting, these commemoratives will bring memories of fun times with family and friends; for those who are just learning about their national parks, this book, the postcards, and series of quarters is a great way to get acquainted. I hope everyone will discover a new national park this National Park Week.”

In honor of National Park Week (www.nps.gov/npweek ), entrance is free at national parks from April 17-25, 2010.

Salazar Announces National Park Service Will Waive Entrance Fees During National Park Week April 17- 25

WASHINGTON, DC – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced today that all 392 national parks will have free admission during National Park Week, April 17 to 25. Parks will also offer additional family friendly activities and special offers on tours, lodging, food, and souvenirs. A listing of parks and promotions is available at www.nps.gov/npweek .

“We are rolling out the red carpet and inviting everyone to visit a national park and help celebrate National Park Week,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “Parks are fun and affordable destinations and great places to engage in healthy, outdoor activities, whether for a few hours or a few days.”

National Park Week, a program of the National Park Service, is an opportunity to engage families and communities in America’s Great Outdoors, reconnecting them with nature and creating close to home opportunities for people to get outside, be active, and have fun.

“National parks preserve our heritage, promote recreational experiences, and provide places of quiet refuge,” said National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis. “Most people live within a short drive of a national park so I encourage everyone to spend some time enjoying America’s Great Outdoors during National Park Week.”

There will be hundreds of family friendly events on Saturday, April 24, for National Junior Ranger Day. Each child participating in Junior Ranger activities will receive a certificate, patch, or pin.

Other National Park Week highlights include the 40th anniversary of Earth Day and the 75th anniversary of the nation’s most visited national park – the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Normally, 146 of 392 national parks charge entrance fees ranging from $3 to $25. The other 246 do not charge for admission. The fee free waiver for National Park Week does not include other fees collected in advance or by contractors—such as fees charged for camping, reservations and use of concessions.