Introduction
Every year, the National Park Service, in conjunction with the National Park Foundation, hosts a week of special programs and events to celebrate our nation's National Park Units.
Last year, all entrance fees were waived for the duration of National Park Week, however this year admission is only free on Saturday April 20th!
National Park Week Theme Days
Each day during National Park Week is also dedicated to a different theme, highlighting the diverse nature of our park system:
- Saturday April 20th: National Junior Ranger Day (#JuniorRangerDay)
- Sunday April 21st: Military & Veterans Recognition Day (#MilitaryAndVeteransRecognition)
- Monday April 22nd: Earth Day (#EarthDay)
- Tuesday April 23rd: Transportation Tuesday (#TransportationTuesday)
- Wednesday April 24th: Wild Wednesday
- Thursday April 25th: Throwback Thursday
- Friday April 26th: Friendship Friday
- Saturday April 27th: BARK Ranger Day
- Sunday April 28th: Park Rx Day
Social Media
To help raise awareness about National Park Week, there are a number of different ways to get involved.
In addition to the day-specific hashtags for the themed days in the list above, you can use #NationalParkWeek, #FindYourPark or #EncuentraTuParque throughout the week to join in the fun. In fact, using #FindYourPark on Twitter will make a special Ranger emoji appear on your tweets!
If Facebook is your thing, then there will be a special frame for a temporary profile picture during National Park Week. To get it, click Update on your Facebook profile picture, then click Add Frame and search for National Park Service.
Other Free Entrance Days
With 419 sites around the country, most people don't have to travel too far to visit their nearest National Park Unit, so if you can, try and get out next Saturday to get free admission.
But if you can't make it, don't despair! There are 5 free entrance days in the National Parks in 2019. Although one has already passed (Monday January 21st, Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr), there are 3 more after the first day of National Park Week. These are:
- Sunday August 25th: National Park Service Birthday
- Saturday September 28th: National Public Lands Day
- Monday November 11th: Veterans' Day
And if you find yourself visiting the National Parks often, don't forget to take a look at the America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Pass for $80 per year which gives you unlimited entrance to over 2,000 federal recreation areas, including all National Park Units that normally charge an entrance fee.
