Grand Canyon Park Service ranger Jill Stavrowski looks out from the South Rim during a visitor tour Feb. 22, 2025, in Grand Canyon, Arizona.
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The Trump administration has removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from next year's calendar of free national park admission days and added President Trump's birthday to the list, according to the National Park Service, as the administration continues to oppose addressing the country's racist history in federal states.
In addition to Trump's birthday, which coincides with Flag Day (June 14), the updated calendar of free dates includes the NPS's 110th anniversary (August 25), Constitution Day (September 17) and President Teddy Roosevelt's birthday (October 27). The changes will take effect on January 1.
Non-US residents will still be required to pay entry fees on these dates under the new “America First” pricing policy. At 11 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 cost of an annual pass for non-residents will rise to $250. An annual resident pass will cost $80.
The move follows a July decree from the White House, which called for increasing fees charged to non-American visitors to national parks and giving citizens and residents “preferential treatment with respect to any remaining recreational access rules, including permitting or lottery rules.”
The Interior Department, which oversees the NPS, called the new fee-exempt dates “patriotic fee-free days” in an announcement that hailed the changes as Trump's “commitment to making national parks more accessible, more accessible and more efficient for the American people.”
The Interior Department did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment.
This was stated by Interior Minister Doug Bergum. statement: “This policy ensures that U.S. taxpayers who already support the National Park System continue to enjoy affordable access while international visitors do their fair share to maintain and improve our parks for future generations.”
The new calendar follows the previous Trump administration calendar. trying to change US history by asking patrons of national parks mark any signs on objects it is believed to cast a negative light on former or living Americans.
