You Can Visit Every National Park for Free on These 5 Days in 2023

A visit to America’s beautiful national parks is always a good idea, and it’s even sweeter when that visit is free. 

Thankfully, there are several free days in 2023 when the National Park Service waives entrance fees at all parks across the country. These free days range from January through November and coincide with national holidays and anniversary milestones.

“National parks are America’s best idea, and there are more than 400 parks available to everyone, every day,” the NPS wrote on its website. “The fee-free days provide a great opportunity to visit a new place or an old favorite, especially one of the national parks that normally charge an entrance fee.”

In 2023, free entry days are:

• Jan. 16 - Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday
• April 22 - First day of National Park Week
• Aug. 4 - Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
• Nov. 11 - Veteran's Day

On fee-free days, parks waive the entrance fees, but it does not apply to amenity or user fees for things like camping, transportation, or special tours.

Most national parks are inherently free to visit year-round, but others, including some of the most popular, charge an entrance fee. Parks with an entrance fee include Denali National Park & Preserve in Alaska, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, Yosemite National Park in California, Everglades National Park in Florida, Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park, Acadia National Park in Maine, Badlands National Park in South Dakota, and more.

A full list of parks waiving entrance fees on these days is available on the NPS website. 

In addition to fee-free days, the NPS offers an annual pass for $80, which gives holders unlimited entrance to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including all of the national parks that typically charge an entrance fee.