Proposed park fees for visitors
A federal budget proposal would charge non‑U.S. residents $250 for an annual national‑park pass or $100 per person for single entry, and would add an extra $100 fee at the nation's busiest parks including Yosemite to help fund deferred maintenance. (ksl.com) (uniondemocrat.com)
The Trump administration’s fiscal 2027 budget proposes new park fees that would charge many foreign visitors more to enter some of the country’s busiest national parks. (doi.gov) Under the plan, non-United States residents would pay $250 for an annual America the Beautiful pass, up from the $80 resident price that took effect on January 1, 2026. Visitors without a pass would pay a new $100 per-person fee, on top of the standard entrance fee, at 11 high-traffic parks. (nps.gov) The 11 parks listed by the National Park Service are Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Everglades, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion. The agency said the per-person charge applies to each non-United States resident age 16 and older. (nps.gov) The White House set this policy in motion on July 3, 2025, when President Donald Trump ordered the Interior Department to raise entrance fees and recreation pass prices for nonresidents at parks that already charge admission. The order said the added revenue should go to park infrastructure and visitor access. (whitehouse.gov) The fees arrive as the National Park Service is still carrying a large repair backlog. A Congressional Research Service report estimated deferred maintenance at $23.263 billion for fiscal year 2023, and the administration’s budget says the new fee revenue would be invested in visitor facilities, essential maintenance, and access improvements. (congress.gov) (doi.gov) Congress would still have to approve the fiscal 2027 budget, which covers the year that starts October 1, 2026. The National Park Service says its annual budget request is submitted each February and then reviewed by Congress. (nps.gov) The administration has already put the pricing structure into practice outside the budget debate. In a November 25, 2025, announcement, Interior said the $250 nonresident annual pass and the added $100 fee at the busiest parks would begin January 1, 2026. (doi.gov) That includes Yosemite, where the National Park Service says no reservation is required to enter in 2026 but the entrance fee still applies at the gate. Yosemite was also one of the 11 parks singled out for the added nonresident charge. (nps.gov 1) (nps.gov 2) The administration’s closing argument is that United States taxpayers already support the park system and foreign visitors should pay more at the most crowded sites. Whether Congress keeps, changes, or rejects that approach will be decided in the fiscal 2027 appropriations fight now ahead. (doi.gov) (nps.gov)
