Each year on August 25th, the National Park Service observes the anniversary of the agency’s establishment by President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Everyone is invited to celebrate the day with waived admission fees to all National Park Service locations.
Celebrate these wondrous National Parks and all their beauty this 25th of August. (Olympic National Park)
In 2021, it will be 105 years since the National Park Service was created to consolidate the management of America’s federal parks underneath one agency. At the time, there were 35 National Parks and National Monuments to manage. Today, that number has grown to over 400.
105 years of preserving these amazing pieces of land like Glacier National Park.
If you are unable to visit a National Park on August 25th and take advantage of the free entrance-fee day, there’s no need to worry since there are two additional entrance fee-free days remaining in 2021:
- Saturday, September 25 – National Public Lands Day
- Monday, November 11 – Veterans Day
Admire the incredible wildlife that these parks protect and love.
As we move towards pandemic recovery, travel demand has rebounded and our National Parks and other public lands are very popular vacation destinations. Here are a few things to keep in mind as you plan a visit:
- Check reservation requirements: be sure to check the website for the park that you would like to visit to see if there are any reservation requirements. Yosemite National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Halekala National Park, Acadia National Park, Glacier National Park and Zion National Park all require advance reservations of some kind.
- Book your lodging in advance: do not plan to arrive in or near a popular National Park during the summer and find available lodging without an advance reservation.
- Bring your patience: many National Parks rely on temporary workers during the summer. Most of those workers live in the National Park while they work there and housing capacity has been limited due to the pandemic. This has resulted in fewer available workers. As a result, some services may be limited or may take a bit longer than you’re used to at hospitality locations within the parks. Our recommendation is to smile, take a deep breath, and enjoy the fact that we’re able to move freely and enjoy these amazing places once again.
- Practice the Seven Principles of Leave No Trace: minimize your impact on our National Parks and Public Lands by following these common-sense guidelines.
- Observe fire regulations: 2021 has already been a very lively fire season, especially for those National Parks in the west. Be sure to check and follow the fire regulations for whichever area that you will be visiting.
- Share your travel experience with friends and family: of course, we’re partial to the #NationsVacation hashtag, but feel free to Tweet, Tik-Tok, Instagram or Facebook your adventure! Tag @NationsVacation for a possible social media feature.
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