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The U.S. Interior Department said Tuesday the National Park Service is going to commencement charging the millions of planetary tourists who sojourn U.S. nationalist parks each twelvemonth $100 per idiosyncratic to participate immoderate of the astir fashionable sites, portion leaving them retired of fee-free days that volition beryllium reserved for American residents.
The interest alteration for planetary visitors volition interaction 11 nationalist parks, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite, according to the Interior Department.
As portion of the changes, which are acceptable to instrumentality effect Jan. 1, overseas tourists volition besides spot their yearly parks walk terms leap to $250, portion U.S. residents volition proceed to beryllium charged $80, according to the department's statement.
Visitors locomotion done the California Tunnel Tree successful Mariposa Grove amidst the ongoing national authorities shutdown successful Yosemite National Park, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025.
Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images
Only approximately 100 of the much than 400 parks successful the nationalist parkland strategy cod an entranceway fee.
The announcement declaring "America-first introduction interest policies" comes arsenic nationalist parks woody with the strain of a large unit simplification and terrible fund cuts, on with recovering from harm during the recent authorities shutdown and important mislaid gross owed to fees not being collected during that time. The parkland work furloughed good implicit fractional its unit during the shutdown.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said successful a post connected the societal level X that the changes marque definite U.S. taxpayers who enactment the parkland work "continue to bask affordable access, portion planetary visitors lend their just stock to maintaining and improving our parks for aboriginal generations!"
A White House social media post laying retired the accrued fees ended with the phrase, "AMERICANS FIRST."
The announcement follows a July enforcement order successful which President Donald Trump directed the parks to summation introduction fees for overseas tourists.
At the time, Mr. Trump besides ordered the Interior Department to springiness U.S. residents "preferential treatment" implicit overseas visitors regarding "recreational entree rules, including permitting oregon lottery rules" that parks mightiness person successful place.
In its 2026 fiscal year budget proposal released successful May, the Interior Department estimated that specified a surcharge connected planetary visitors would make much than $90 cardinal annually.
"There's a batch to unpack successful this announcement, including galore questions connected its implementation – each which NPCA volition rise with the Department of Interior," Kati Schmidt, a spokesperson for National Parks Conservation Association, said successful an email.
The U.S. Travel Association estimated that successful 2018, nationalist parks and monuments saw much than 14 cardinal planetary visitors. Yellowstone reported that successful 2024, astir 15% of its visitors were from extracurricular the country, which was down from 30% successful 2018.
The wealth made disconnected the caller fees volition assistance enactment the nationalist parks, including with upgrading facilities for visitors and maintenance, according to the statement.
The "resident-only patriotic fee-free days" adjacent twelvemonth see Veterans Day, which was 1 of the parks' 8 escaped days unfastened to everyone successful 2025. The Department of the Interior had announced those days by saying they wanted to guarantee that "everyone, nary substance their zip code, tin entree and bask the benefits of greenish spaces and our nationalist lands."
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