National Park Service free entry May 25

The National Park Service will waive entrance fees at parks that normally charge them on Monday, May 25, 2026, in observance of Memorial Day, according to the agency’s Memorial Day page. The Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also list Memorial Day as a fee-free date at sites that usually charge for entry or standard day use. The waiver covers marquee destinations such as Death Valley National Park, Zion National Park and Grand Canyon National Park, all of which normally charge entrance fees. Other charges, including timed-entry or reservation fees where required, can still apply. ### Which federal agencies are actually offering free entry on May 25? The National Park Service says “U.S. residents will not be charged entrance fees” at national parks on May 25, 2026. The agency’s 2026 fee-free calendar lists Memorial Day among the dates when sites that normally charge admission will offer free entry. The Bureau of Land Management says Memorial Day is one of its 2026 fee-free days and that, beginning in 2026, free access on those dates is for “U.S. citizens and residents only.” On BLM lands, the waiver applies to standard amenity and day-use fees at places including visitor centers, picnic and day-use areas, and National Conservation Lands units where fees are normally charged. (nps.gov) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says national wildlife refuges and other agency lands that normally charge an entrance fee will offer free admission on Memorial Day. The service’s recreation-pass page lists May 25, 2026, among its fee-free dates. ### Does “free entry” mean every cost disappears? The National Park Service says the Memorial Day waiver covers entrance fees, not every charge a visitor might encounter. (blm.gov) Agency fee pages say “other fees, including timed entry or reservation fees, may apply” even on fee-free days. The Bureau of Land Management makes a similar distinction. Its fee-free-day guidance says the waiver applies to standard amenity and day-use fees, which means other site-specific charges can remain in place depending on the location. (fws.gov) ### Which big-name parks are included? Death Valley National Park, Zion National Park and Grand Canyon National Park are among the parks affected because they are National Park Service sites that normally charge entrance fees. (nps.gov) Under the NPS policy for May 25, those entrance fees are waived for U.S. residents. Grand Canyon and Zion are not singled out in the federal notices, but they fall within the NPS-wide fee holiday because the agency says all sites that charge an entrance fee participate. (blm.gov) That is an inference from the NPS systemwide policy and the parks’ status as fee-charging units. ### Is there a catch for international visitors? (nps.gov) Beginning in 2026, the Bureau of Land Management says nonresidents will pay the regular standard amenity fee and any applicable nonresident fees on BLM fee-free days. The National Park Service uses similar language on its Memorial Day and fee pages, saying free entrance on those dates is for U.S. citizens and residents. (nps.gov) The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service pages surfaced in search results list the Memorial Day fee-free date but do not, in the excerpts reviewed, spell out the same residency restriction in the same way. Visitors should check the specific refuge or site page before traveling. ### What should visitors check before they go? Timed-entry rules, reservation systems and local conditions can still shape a Memorial Day visit even when entrance is free. (blm.gov) The National Park Service says reservation or timed-entry fees may still apply, and individual park pages carry the latest operating details. The next listed fee-free date after Memorial Day is June 14, 2026, on agency pages for the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service. (fws.gov) Travelers planning later summer trips can find the full 2026 calendars on those agencies’ fee and recreation pages. (nps.gov)