Grand Canyon Park Services Ranger Jill Staurowsky looks from the South Rim while giving a tour to visitors on February 22, 2025 in the Grand Canyon, Arizona.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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Brandon Bell/Getty Images
The Trump administration removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from next year’s calendar of free admission days at national parks and added President Trump’s birthday to the list, according to the National Park Service, as the administration continues to reject recognition of the country’s racist history on federal lands.
In addition to Trump’s birthday, which coincides with Flag Day (June 14), the updated calendar of free dates includes the 110th anniversary of the NPS (August 25), Constitution Day (September 17) and President Teddy Roosevelt’s birthday (October 27). The changes will take effect from January 1.
Non-US residents will still be required to pay entry fees on those dates under the new “America First pricing” policy. At 11 of some of the country’s most popular national parks, international visitors will be charged an additional $100 on top of the standard entrance fee, and the annual pass for non-residents will increase to $250. The annual resident pass will be $80.
The move follows a July executive order from the White House that called for increasing fees charged to non-U.S. visitors to national parks and giving citizens and residents “preferential treatment with respect to any remaining recreational access rules, including permit or lottery rules.”
The Department of the Interior, which oversees the NPS, called the new fee-waived dates “Fee-Free Patriotic Days,” in an announcement that praised the changes as “Trump’s commitment to making national parks more accessible, more affordable and more efficient for the American people.”
The Interior Department did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement: “These policies ensure that American taxpayers, who already support the National Park System, continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations.”
The new calendar follows the Trump administration’s previous moves to reshape American history by asking national park patrons to flag any signs at sites deemed to cast a negative light on Americans past or living.