The National Park Service is making some major changes in 2026 — starting with what days allow free admission to its parks.
In a press release, it has been announced that Juneteenth and Martin Luther King Jr. Day will no longer be occasions for Americans to get free admission to national parks. However, there’s now a new day this happens — President Donald Trump’s birthday on June 14.
Next year, other free entrance days include Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday, Veterans Day, Constitution Day, Independence Day weekend, and the 110th birthday of the National Park Service.
In addition to MLK Day and Juneteenth, National Public Lands Day and the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act were removed from being free entrance days.
Congress designated MLK Day as a National Day of Service in 1994. In the past, the National Park Service hosted volunteer events in addition to not charging for entrance into the parks then.
Juneteenth was federally recognized in 2021 by the Biden Administration as a holiday to commemorate the final end of slavery in the Confederacy after the Civil War ended.
For next year’s free days, these will only apply to U.S. citizens and residents. "These policies ensure that U.S. taxpayers, who already support the National Park System, continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations," Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in the release.
"This policy shift is deeply concerning," Tyrhee Moore, the executive director of nonprofit Soul Trak Outdoors, told SFGATE. "Removing free-entry days on MLK Day and Juneteenth sends a troubling message about who our national parks are for.
"These holidays hold profound cultural and historical significance for Black communities, and eliminating them as access points feels like a direct targeting of the very groups who already face systemic barriers to the outdoors."