WASHINGTON — If you plan on visiting any national park in the United States this year, be prepared for changes and new guidelines.
U.S. “residents” will still be able to pay $80 for the year for an America the Beautiful Pass. However, foreign tourists will need to pay $250.
Without a pass, tourists will have to pay a $100 fee in addition to standard entrance fees to enter 11 of the most visited national parks.
None of Washington’s three national parks are on this list.
The Department of Interior said this new resident-focused fee structure ”puts American families first."
Additionally, America the Beautiful passes (including annual, senior, military, 4th grade and access levels) will be available in a fully digital format through Recreation.gov.
The 2026 America the Beautiful Pass (which is $80 for a year’s entry), features President George Washington and President Donald Trump’s faces, instead of the typical animal or nature scene.
Also in 2026, the updated ‘Plan Your Visit’ page on the National Park Service’s website lists one of the free resident-visitor days on June 14 as “Flag Day/President Trump’s birthday.”
The Trump Administration removed several free visitation days, including on Martin Luther King Jr Day (Jan.20), Juneteenth (June 19), the anniversary of the Great Outdoors Act (Aug. 4) and National Public Lands Day (Sept. 27).
The administration added free days instead to include: President’s Day (Feb. 16), Memorial Day (May 25), Independence Day Weekend (July 3-5), Constitution Day (Sept. 17), and Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday (Oct. 27)
These free entrance days are also now only free for U.S. residents.
It should be noted that in 2025, President Trump proposed a $1.2 billion cut to the National Park Service for 2026. That money represents nearly 40% of its total operating budget.
Between April and September, over 90 parks reported loss of revenue and negative impacts on emergency services due to the funding and staffing cuts, according to the New York Times.