NPS drops MLK Day, Juneteenth from fee‑free calendar, adds June 14; confirms nonresident surcharges
The National Park Service has removed MLK Day and Juneteenth from its fee‑free calendar and added June 14 (noted as Trump’s birthday/Flag Day), along with the NPS 110th anniversary (Aug. 25), Constitution Day (Sept. 17) and Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday (Oct. 27), changes the Interior is calling “patriotic fee‑free days” effective Jan. 1, 2026. The agency also confirmed the resident annual pass remains $80 while a new nonresident annual pass will rise to $250 and a $100 surcharge for non‑U.S. visitors will apply at 11 popular parks, measures linked to a July White House executive order.
📌 Key Facts
- The National Park Service will adopt a new fee‑free calendar effective Jan. 1, 2026, that drops Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth and adds June 14 (Flag Day/Donald Trump’s birthday); the full fee‑free dates listed are June 14, Aug. 25 (NPS 110th anniversary), Sept. 17 (Constitution Day) and Oct. 27 (Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday).
- The Department of the Interior framed the selected dates as 'patriotic fee‑free days' and provided a statement from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum about the changes.
- The resident annual national parks pass will remain $80 while the nonresident annual pass will increase to $250.
- The DOI reiterated a $100 surcharge for non‑U.S. visitors at 11 popular parks.
- Officials tied the calendar and fee changes to a July White House executive order directing higher fees for non‑U.S. visitors and preferential access for U.S. citizens and residents.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2023, approximately 14 million people visited national park sites from other countries annually, representing about 4% of total recreation visits to U.S. national parks (based on 325.5 million total visits), while international visitors constitute more than one-third of all foreign visitors to the United States.
How Overseas Visitors Can Help Steward Our National Parks — Property and Environment Research Center (PERC)
African Americans and Hispanic Americans collectively constituted less than 10% of all visitors surveyed in U.S. national parks in a 2021 national study, despite comprising approximately 13% and 19% of the U.S. population respectively.
Who visits U.S. national parks (and who doesn’t)? A national study of perceived constraints and vacation preferences across recreational activity levels — Journal of Leisure Research
Geographic accessibility is an important factor explaining low minority visitation rates to U.S. national parks, as many parks are located far from urban areas with high minority populations.
Why Do So Few Minority People Visit National Parks? Visitation and the Accessibility of “America’s Best Idea” — ResearchGate
📰 Sources (2)
- Lists the full new fee‑free dates: NPS 110th anniversary (Aug. 25), Constitution Day (Sept. 17), Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday (Oct. 27), and Trump’s birthday/Flag Day (June 14).
- Effective date is Jan. 1, 2026.
- DOI frames them as 'patriotic fee‑free days' and provided a statement from Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
- Confirms resident annual pass remains $80; nonresident annual pass rises to $250; reiterates $100 surcharge for non‑U.S. visitors at 11 popular parks.
- Links the changes to a July White House executive order directing higher fees for non‑U.S. visitors and preferential access for citizens/residents.