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Travel insights from Taylor Coulson, associate editor of The Compass
National Parks Free Days in 2021
National parks are America’s natural wonders everyone can explore – and they’re everywhere. You can discover more than 400 national park sites in all corners of the country and four U.S. territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands). On six days in 2021, all National Park Service (NPS) sites that typically charge entrance fees (between $5-$35) will waive admission charges. Park visitors should still expect activity and amenity fees for things like camping, in-park transportation, boat launches, and special tours.
Mark your calendars and for these entrance fee-free dates in 2021:
- Jan. 18, Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday
- April 17, the first day of National Park Week
- Aug. 4, one-year anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
- Aug. 25, NPS birthday
- Sept. 25, National Public Lands Day
- Nov. 11, Veterans Day
These fee-free days celebrate or commemorate significant events. According to Margaret Everson, the acting director for NPS, “Every national park provides a variety of opportunities for visitors to get out in nature, connect with our common heritage and experience the vast array of benefits that come from spending time outdoors.”
Benefits of Visiting National Parks
Since most of 2020 was spent quarantining indoors, spending time outdoors is probably number one on everyone’s goals for 2021. National parks were practically made for practicing social distance while exploring across America. Here are a few benefits of visiting national parks beyond nearby vacation rentals and amazing scenery:
- Experience and gain knowledge on nature, wildlife, plants and historical monuments that are expressed through vivid real-life interpretation while hiking or wandering through the national parks.
- Mental well-being improves since stress is minimized and tranquility, happiness and energy levels raise by breathing in fresh air, seeing new sights and taking a break from the world of technology.
- Sustainability increases with each volunteer visitor that treks through. From picking up litter with a group of friends, to planting trees or grass, the overall health of parks improves by volunteer efforts.
Tell us which national park you plan on visiting next year in the comments below.
Information from the National Park Service’s website, nps.gov, was used in compiling this article.
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