This week is National Park Week, and to celebrate the opening day for parks across the nation, admission is free for anyone looking to get into nature this Saturday, April 16.
The free entry to the United States’ more than 400-plus National Parks is to “celebrate America’s treasures,” according to the National Park Service. To take part in the celebration all you have to do is show up.
National Parks saw record-low attendance during the pandemic, primarily due to COVID-19 protocols limiting the number of attendees. But 2021 saw a big swing in attendance, almost reaching 2016 highs.
According to the National Park Service, there were 297 million recreational visits in 2021, up 60 million from 2020.
“While visitation has not completely recovered to pre-pandemic levels, it has regained much of the visitation lost due to pandemic restrictions in 2020 and is now at a level like the 2014-2015 run-up to the NPS Centennial in 2016,” the NPS shared on their website.
To continue the growing turnout they saw in 2021, the NPS will offer a number of other free admission dates throughout the calendar year.
Other fee-free days include Aug. 4, the one-year anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act; Aug. 25, the NPS’s 105th birthday; Sept. 25, National Public Lands Day; and Nov. 11, Veterans Day.
National Park Week was created to celebrate our nation’s parks and preserved nature. The week is a joint initiative between the NPS and the National Park Foundation, the official charity of the country’s national parks.
The celebration week will last for nine days, from April 16 to the 24, with activities and celebrations taking place at the over 400 national parks in the U.S.
For the full list of events taking place each day click here, and to find your nearest national park and get in on the celebration, visit the National Park Service’s website here.
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