Six Free Entrance Days to National Parks in 2021, First Free day is in January

 We are so fortunate to live in a country where we have over 400 beautiful national parks and over 2000 federal recreation sites including national parks. Chances are, no matter where you live in the US you are within driving distance of a park or some kind of recreation area. 

I was looking over the list and trying to count how many national parks that I've visited, I counted 10 or more but there are still so many parks that I would love to visit in my lifetime. I've been to some of the most beautiful parks in the country, Glacier, Yellowstone, Mt Rainier, Olympic National Park even Haleakala National Park in Hawaii. There's just something about hiking in the rainforest with moss covered trees or climbing up to waterfalls and glacial lakes, it soothes my soul and leaves me in awe of this magnificent planet. 

There are six free entrance days to national parks in 2021, the first Free Admission Day is coming up soon, January 18th, 2021 it is The Birthday of Martin Luther King Jr.

Here are the rest of the days:

• April 17th, First day of National Park Week
• August 4th, One year anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
• August 25th, National Park Service Birthday
• September 25th, National Public Lands Day
• November 11th, Veterans Day

Due to Covid 19 you should check the park website to determine it's operating status. 

I think we need to get out, a lot of us have been working from home for months or helping out kids with online school, not really going places like we normally do and it really starts to take a toll. Getting out and enjoying nature is the medicine we need, driving in wide open spaces or viewing amazing rock formations and volcanic lakes, enjoying the absolute splendor and beauty that these parks have to offer. 

If you are visiting parks at other times the fees vary, go to Entrance Fees by Park for the fee details for each park, they range from $10- $50 or more. If you and your family like to travel to several parks during the year you can buy the America The Beautiful Pass for $80, it gives you free access to all the parks for one year, it includes everyone in your vehicle so that is a budget friendly way to go if you plan on visiting more than 1 park. 

There are several kinds of passes including Military, Senior, 4th Grade Pass which is part of the Every Kid Outdoors program, 4th graders and their family get a free pass to national parks for one year and then there is an Access Pass for residents with permanent disabilities. There are a lot of budget friendly options, go to America the Beautiful Passes for all the details and fees.

My family and myself have no excuses, we have the America the Beautiful Pass so we just need to get off the couch and get out there (safely) of course, I intend to add more parks to my list. Being out in nature reduces stress and contributes to our physical and emotional well being and it brings us closer together, it's so good for kids to be able to run and explore and learn and ask questions about a new place or environment so let's get out there as safely as we can!

What national parks would you like to visit??