This Is When America's National Parks Will Be Free To Visit In 2017

Four hundred national parks and thousands upon thousands of monuments and historical sites are waiting to be discovered in the USA. Best of all, for eight days this year you won’t have to pay a single penny to see them.
While 137 sites typically charge admission, entrance fees will be waived on these eight days in 2017:
Saturday and Sunday, April 15–16 and 22–23: Weekends of National Park Week

Friday, August 25: National Park Service Birthday

Saturday, September 30: National Public Lands Day

Saturday and Sunday, November 11–12: Veterans Day Weekend
And if you can’t wait that long or are travelling to the US before these dates, buy an annual pass for a reasonable $80.
Here are the 137 National Park Service sites you’ll be able to explore for absolutely nothing this year:

Alaska

Denali National Park & Preserve

Arizona

Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Grand Canyon National Park
Lake Mead National Recreation Area
Montezuma Castle National Monument
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Petrified Forest National Park
Park Pipe Spring National Monument
Saguaro National Park
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
Tonto National Monument
Tumacácori National Historical Park
Tuzigoot National Monument
Walnut Canyon National Monument
Wupatki National Monument

Arkansas

Fort Smith National Historic Site
Pea Ridge National Military Park

California

Cabrillo National Monument
Death Valley National Park
Joshua Tree National Park
Lassen Volcanic National Park
Lava Beds National Monument
Muir Woods National Monument
Pinnacles National Park
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area
Yosemite National Park

Colorado

Black Canyon of The Gunnison National Park
Colorado National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve
Mesa Verde National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park

Florida

Canaveral National Seashore
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument
Dry Tortugas National Park
Everglades National Park
Gulf Islands National Seashore

Georgia

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
Cumberland Island National Seashore
Fort Pulaski National Monument

Hawaii

Haleakalā National Park
Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park
Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park

Maryland

Antietam National Battlefield
Assateague Island National Seashore
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
Fort Washington Park
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Massachusetts

Adams National Historical Park
Cape Cod National Seashore

Michigan

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore

Minnesota

Pipestone National Monument

Mississippi

Gulf Islands National Seashore
Vicksburg National Military Park

Missouri

Harry S Truman National Historic Site
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield

Montana

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Glacier National Park
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
Yellowstone National Park

Nebraska

Scotts Bluff National Monument

Nevada

Death Valley National Park
Lake Mead National Recreation Area

New Hampshire

Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site

New Jersey

Thomas Edison National Historical Park
Morristown National Historical Park

New Mexico

Aztec Ruins National Monument
Bandelier National Monument
Capulin Volcano National Monument
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
White Sands National Monument
Valles Caldera National Preserve

New York

Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
Saratoga National Historical Park
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site

North Carolina

Wright Brothers National Memorial

North Dakota

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Ohio

James A. Garfield National Historic Site
Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial

Oklahoma

Fort Smith National Historic Site

Oregon

Crater Lake National Park
Lewis & Clark National Historical Park

Pennsylvania

Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
Fort Necessity National Battlefield
Johnstown Flood National Memorial
Steamtown National Historic Site

Puerto Rico

San Juan National Historic Site

South Carolina

Fort Sumter National Monument

South Dakota

Badlands National Park
Jewel Cave National Monument

Tennessee

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

Texas

Big Bend National Park
Fort Davis National Historic Site
Guadalupe Mountains National Park
Padre Island National Seashore

Utah

Arches National Park
Bryce Canyon National Park
Canyonlands National Park
Capitol Reef National Park
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Golden Spike National Historic Site
Natural Bridges National Monument
Zion National Park

Virgin Islands

Christiansted National Historic Site

Virginia

Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
Assateague Island National Seashore
Colonial National Historical Park
George Washington Memorial Parkway’s Great Falls Park
Prince William Forest Park
Shenandoah National Park

Washington

Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
Lewis & Clark National Historical Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Olympic National Park

West Virginia

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Wyoming

Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Devils Tower National Monument
Grand Teton National Park
Yellowstone National Park
Love the USA? Check out these incredible places you never knew existed in ‘the land of the free’!

About the author

Luke Abrahams

Luke Abrahams is a born and bred Londoner and is proud to call the capital his home. He mostly writes about popular culture trends and pugs but isn’t afraid to tackle food, art and style from time-to-time.