Free National Park Days in 2024
Mark your calendars: Here’s where and when to recreate for free this year
Image: Doug, Adobe Stock
Baba Dioum, a Sengalese forest scientist, once said “In the end, we will conserve only what we love.” If we hold his sentiment to be true, the best way to preserve nature is to get people to fall in love with it. If you love to recreate outside, you know falling in love with your surroundings can be easy, but to do so, you need to be able to get out there. While U.S. public lands are built to be accessible for everyone, their entry fees can sometimes be prohibitive, making fee-free days an important tool for introducing more people to the great outdoors.
“National parks are places that awaken senses, inspire curiosity, encourage reflection, and foster joy,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “The entrance fee-free days expand opportunities for people to visit their national parks and experience the beauty and history of our country.” It’s not just national parks that offer free entry a few days a year; the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers all waive fees a few times a year. “Our public lands are the gift that keeps giving,” said BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning.
Jump to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Free Days 2024
Jump to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Free Days 2024
U.S. National Park Free Days 2024
There are 63 designated National Parks in the United States — think Yosemite National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, and Big Bend National Park (I’ve included a full list below) and over 400 national park sites in the U.S. National Park System.
Here are the days that you can visit National Parks for free in 2024:
January 15 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
April 20 – First Day of National Park Week
June 19 – Juneteenth
August 4 – Great American Outdoors Day
September 28 – National Public Lands Day
November 11 – Veterans Day
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Free Days 2024
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) manages national wildlife refuges, fish hatcheries and national monuments across the country. Find a USFW site in your state. These sites can be visited free of charge on the following days:
January 15 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
June 19 - Juneteenth
September 28 - National Public Lands Day
October 13 — first Sunday of National Wildlife Refuge Week
November 11 - Veterans Day
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Free Days 2024
While many of BLM’s 3,400 recreation sites and areas are already free of charge, they invite the public to visit visitor centers, picnic/day use areas and National Conservation Lands units fee-free (camping permits, cabin rentals and special permits are not free) on the following days:
January 15 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
June 19 - Juneteenth
July 16 - BLM's birthday
September 28 - National Public Lands Day
October 13 — first Sunday of National Wildlife Refuge Week
November 11 - Veterans Day
U.S. Forest Service Free Days 2024
The U.S. Forest Service has yet to announce fee-free days for any of the 193 million acres of forest and grassland they manage, but they offered them in 2023, so dates will likely be announced soon.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Recreation Areas Free Days 2024
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates more than 2,850 USACE-operated recreation areas nationwide. They have yet to announce their free days, but have waived fees on certain days in the past.
Free public lands access give more people the opportunity to enjoy and fall in love with awe-inducing natural landscapes. Where will you visit for free this year?
