On Tuesday, the National Park Service announced its intention to impose an additional $100 entry fee on the vast numbers of international visitors frequenting U.S. Parks annually, restricting access to certain highly frequented locations. Furthermore, these visitors will be excluded from fee-free days, which are to be exclusively for American citizens.
TL;DR
- National Park Service to add $100 fee for international visitors, restricting access to popular locations.
- International visitors will pay $250 annually, while U.S. citizens pay $80, starting January 1st.
- Fee-free days will be exclusively for American citizens, excluding international visitors.
- Revenue aims to fund park upkeep, address staff reductions, and budget cuts.
The announcement declaring “America-first entry fee policies” comes as national parks deal with the strain of a major staff reduction and severe budget cuts, along with recovering from damage during the recent government shutdown and significant lost revenue due to fees not being collected during that time.
Eleven national parks, such as Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite, will be affected by the fee adjustment, as reported by the U.S. Department of the Interior.
With the upcoming modifications, scheduled to begin on January 1st, international visitors will also experience a significant increase in their yearly park admission fee, rising to $250. Meanwhile, citizens of the United States will still be required to pay $80, as indicated in the department's official announcement.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stated on the social media platform X that these adjustments ensure that American taxpayers who contribute to the park service “continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations!”
A White House post on X laying out the increased fees ended with the phrase, “AMERICANS FIRST.”
The statement comes after a July directive from President Donald Trump that mandated higher entrance charges for international visitors at the parks.
“There’s a lot to unpack in this announcement, including many questions on its implementation – all which NPCA will raise with the Department of Interior,” Kati Schmidt, a spokesperson for National Parks Conservation Association, said in an email.
The U.S. Travel Association calculated that in 2018, national parks and monuments welcomed over 14 million foreign tourists. Yellowstone indicated that in 2024, approximately 15% of its guests hailed from abroad, a decrease from 30% recorded in 2018.
The revenue generated from the updated charges is intended to aid in the upkeep of the nation's parks, encompassing improvements to guest amenities and general upkeep, as detailed in the announcement.
The “resident-only patriotic fee-free days” for the upcoming year feature Veterans Day, which was among the eight days offering free park access to all visitors in 2025. The Department of the Interior had previously revealed these dates, stating their intention to guarantee that “everyone, no matter their ZIP code, can access and enjoy the benefits of green spaces and our public lands.”
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Golden reported from Seattle.