Park pass artwork changes

If you buy a national park annual pass in 2026, expect a different look, a digital option, and new price rules based on residency. (doi.gov) The Interior Department announced the changes on Nov. 25, 2025, and put them in effect on Jan. 1, 2026. The agency said America the Beautiful passes, including annual, senior, military, fourth-grade and access passes, are now available in digital form through Recreation.gov and can be stored on a phone or linked to a physical card. (doi.gov) The biggest price change is for the annual interagency pass: $80 for U.S. citizens and residents, $250 for non-U.S. residents. The National Park Service says that pass covers entrance and standard day-use fees at more than 2,000 federal recreation sites. (nps.gov) The redesign is not just cosmetic. The Interior Department said the 2026 passes use “modernized graphics,” while a lawsuit filed in December 2025 says the main 2026 annual pass replaced a contest-winning Glacier National Park image with a design featuring President Donald Trump and George Washington. (doi.gov) (biologicaldiversity.org) The fee-free calendar changed too. In 2026, the National Park Service says entrance fees are waived for U.S. residents on eight dates: Feb. 16, May 25, June 14, July 3-5, Aug. 25, Sept. 17, Oct. 27 and Nov. 11. (nps.gov) Those free days do not erase every charge. The Park Service says camping fees, timed-entry reservations, special-use permits and other non-entrance charges can still apply even when the gate fee is waived. (nps.gov) The new rules also separate U.S. residents from international visitors more sharply than before. Interior said nonresidents without an annual pass must pay an extra $100 per person to enter 11 of the most visited national parks, on top of the standard entrance fee. (doi.gov) For trip planning, the pass still does not replace every booking requirement. The Park Service says some parks require timed entry or separate reservations, and those are usually handled through Recreation.gov on a rolling basis. (nps.gov) The 2026 changes land in a year when the Park Service is tying many events to the nation’s 250th anniversary and its own 110th birthday on Aug. 25. That birthday is one of the new fee-free days for U.S. residents. (nps.gov) So the practical question for visitors is simple: if you plan multiple park trips in 2026, check whether you need a resident annual pass, a park-specific pass, or just a reservation. The artwork changed, but the fine print on who pays what changed more. (nps.gov)