Discount Travel Secret: National Parks Free Entrance Days

Hi Reader,

When JP and I first started traveling together back in 2017 we didn't have much money (I was in grad school, working 2 full time jobs, and living in the notoriously expensive area of Southern California).

I wasn't sure how long I'd be living out there and I wanted to see and do as much as I could while I had the opportunity.

So we started taking some overnight and weekend trips to national parks because of how inexpensive they are to visit.

Historically, annual passes for the average person were $80 to visit any and all national park service sites you wanted all year long and California alone has 33 sites!

I was also working for Hilton at the time, so most rooms were $35 a night + tax and we were able to stay less than 30 minutes away from just about every national park and book our stays last minute (unlike staying at national park lodges or national park campgrounds while sell out in advance pretty regularly).

Since these trips were short, we usually only used 2-3 tanks of gas and I think gas was about $3.50 on average back then, but closer to the $4-$5 range near the remote national parks.

Most of the time on these trips we'd go to a sandwich shop to bring in our own lunch while we were out on trails and we'd pack some drinks and snacks, so dining was pretty inexpensive as well.

So the typical breakdown of one of these trips would be:

• Transportation: $50-$200 in gas roundtrip
• Lodging: $40-$50 per night
• Dining: $0 free breakfast at our hotels, $20-$30 bringing in a packed lunch & snacks, $60 dinner if we decided to do a table service meal somewhere (like at the lodge in Yosemite)
• Activities/Entertainment: one time $80 annual pass fee

We were usually spending about $250-$350 per weekend getaway when we were visiting national parks.

These were some of my favorite trips we've ever taken (you can check some of them out below - I'll be updating all of them later this year because it's been awhile 🙈):

• ​Yosemite National Park one day itinerary​
• ​Joshua Tree National Park one day itinerary​
• ​Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park one day itinerary​
• ​Death Valley National Park one day itinerary​

Even in 2026, this is still pretty do-able, especially if you can keep lodging costs low by camping in the national parks or nearby campgrounds, keep dining costs low by bringing some of your own food or getting food to go, and choosing destinations that are less than a 6 hour drive or so to spend less on gas.

And of course, to save on admission, you can always visit during the Free Entrance Days (though it'll be crowded I'm sure - unless it's an off-season time for a park, then you might get lucky).

2026 Free Entrance Days in the National Parks

All National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission for US citizens and residents only on the following dates:

• February 16: Presidents Day (Washington's Birthday)
• May 25: Memorial Day
• June 14: Flag Day
• July 3–5: Independence Day weekend (America 250 Celebration!)
• August 25: 110th Birthday of the National Park Service
• September 17: Constitution Day
• October 27: Theodore Roosevelt's birthday
• November 11: Veterans Day

If any parks have an additional timed entry ticket or reservation fee, you'll still have to pay for those, but general admission will be waived on these days.

I've only paid like a $2 fee for these kinds of things in the past, but I'm not sure what any current fees are or where they're being used.

But if you don't like the idea of visiting on a free day that may be over-crowded, 316 of the 475 total National Park Service sites are always free to visit, don't require timed entry passes, and don't have any parking or shuttle fees to get around the site!

You can check these out on this insanely helpful Entrance Fees by Park page where you can filter out by whatever you're looking for:

And honestly, what better time to visit some of these lesser known sites than during America's 250 celebration?

If you're planning to visit any national parks this year, reply to this email and tell us about the trip you have planned!

We love to see what our readers are up to.

See you next week,

Eva and JP 💎

P.S. Ready to plan your next trip?

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