Trump administration alters national parks' free-entry days, cutting MLK Day and Juneteenth

The Trump administration has changed which days Americans can visit national parks for free next year, removing Martin Luther King Jr.

The Trump administration has changed which days Americans can visit national parks for free next year, removing Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth and adding President Donald Trump’s birthday, which falls on Flag Day.

The Department of the Interior made the changes last month, designating those 2026 dates “resident-only patriotic fee-free days.” Other changes include adding the Fourth of July weekend and President Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday to the list, while removing the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act in August and National Public Lands Day in September.

In a press release announcing new prices for annual passes to the nation’s national parks for nonresidents, the Interior Department — led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum — also released a list of fee-free dates for next year.

Tourists view a geyser eruption in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo., in 2024.Qian Weizhong / VCG via Getty Images fileThe dates for 2026 include President’s Day in February, Memorial Day in May, Flag Day/Trump’s birthday in June, Independence Day weekend in July, the 110th Birthday of the National Park Service in August, Constitution Day in September, Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday in October and Veteran’s Day in November.

One of those dates — Veteran’s Day — has been a fee-free day before, according to a list of the 2025 fee-free dates and a list of the 2024 fee-free dates.