With the new year fast approaching, the National Parks Service has announced its six free admission days for 2025, when visitors can experience the stunning natural beauty of America’s finest wild spaces free of charge.
These free admissions days apply to some of the country’s best and biggest national parks, such as Californian gem Yosemite and the 3,471 square mile / 8,991 km2 Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.
A standard daily pass to these parks usually costs $20, while annual passes can cost as much as $70, with discounts for military personnel and senior citizens.
Following the US public holiday schedule, the free admissions days are as follows.
- January 20 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- April 19 – First Day of National Park Week
- June 19 – Juneteenth National Independence Day
- August 4 – Great American Outdoors Act Signing Day
- September 27 – National Public Lands Day
- November 11 – Veterans Day
With parks dotted around every state, there will be plenty of opportunities to experience the American wilderness for free next year.
Alongside public holidays, several less popular parks are free to visit all year round.
Spanning 120.3 square miles / 311.6 km2 of rugged Nevada backcountry, the iconic Great Basin National Park is always free to visit, as is the ancient forest of California’s Redwood National Park.
If remote desert is more your thing, the desolate Death Valley National Park is free to enter at all times, although best avoided during the day due to its unforgiving landscape and soaring temperatures.
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