Want to get outside and enjoy nature for free?
For the kickoff of the annual National Park Week, which for 2025 will be held April 19-27, the park service is offering free admission to all its parks and monuments on Saturday, April 19.
This can save you a $50 entry fee or even more, but here’s what you need to know:
You might be shocked to learn this, but these freebie days are really, really popular. For maximum enjoyment, I suggest getting there at sunrise, before everyone else is even out of bed. No crowds, you can find parking, and sunrise is really beautiful, right? C’mon. You can do it this once.
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesYOSEMITE, CA – FEBRUARY 22: A view of El Capitan as snow blanked Yosemite National Park in California, United States on February 22, 2023. Winter storm warning issued in Yosemite Valley until Saturday. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Shot with an iPhone in Sequoia National Park, CA, on Wednesday, April 24, 2019. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG) People visit Zabriskie Point as the sun sets, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, in Death Valley National Park, Calif. (AP Photo/John Locher) Joshua Tree National Park offers spectacular hikes and vistas in a region where California’s Mojave and Colorado Desert ecosystems meet. (Getty Images) A man and his son hike the Balconies Cave Trail at Pinnacles National Park in Soledad. (Photo by David Roya, Monterey Herald) Arch Rock on the rugged eastern tip of East Anacapa Island in the Channel Islands National Park is seen in this view. A new ocean study highlights California’s Channel Islands of one of six marine protected areas in the U.S. and Pacific Rim in making the argument that many more such areas are needed, in the U.S. and world, to reverse the man’s damage to the seas. Within a decade of establishing the zones around the Channel Islands, there was an 80 percent increase in the total mass of marine life there, according to the report. (Courtesy Santa Barbara Adventure Company) A salmon restoration project at Prairie Creek shown Monday, Jan. 29, 2024, which runs from Redwood National and State Parks, Calif., and flows through land that will be returned to the Yurok Tribe. The tribe which lost 90 percent of its ancestral land during the Gold Rush in the mid-19th century, is getting back a slice of its territory under an agreement signed Tuesday, March 19, 2024, with California and the National Park Service. This 125-acre parcel will be transferred to the Tribe, in 2026. (AP Photo/Terry Chea) Show CaptionTayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images1 of 7YOSEMITE, CA – FEBRUARY 22: A view of El Capitan as snow blanked Yosemite National Park in California, United States on February 22, 2023. Winter storm warning issued in Yosemite Valley until Saturday. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) ExpandAnd here’s when you can visit all national parks free in 2025.
And here’s a tip about sunrise: In Yellowstone, the rivers send up huge clouds of steam before dawn because of underlying hot springs. This is remarkable to see, but the steam starts evaporating the minute the sun hits them. To see this remarkable phenomenon, get on the road just before the sun comes up. It’s worth the effort. Plus, all the parking lots will be empty.
You don’t need to sign up or register. But check if you need reservations, because April 19 is in the middle of Easter weekend. You’ll need to go to recreation.gov and search for the park you want and “timed entry” to find the reservation information. I didn’t find any reservation requirements for Yosemite.
Here are the nine national parks in California: Channel Islands (the boat ride won’t be free), Death Valley, Joshua Tree, Lassen, Pinnacles, Redwood, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, and Yosemite. (Note that Yosemite’s still going to be snowy, and probably Lassen and Kings Canyon too.)
Personally, I suggest Joshua Tree, which is my favorite local place. We go at dawn and hike until the sluggards start arriving, usually around 11 a.m. head to lunch, and then either drive home, or stop in Desert Hot Springs for a soak in a hot spring resort.
Note there are special national park events all week long, so take a look online to see what’s available. And enjoy!
Learn more: nps.gov
Related links
Here’s when you can visit all national parks for free in 2025 Fun things to do in Southern California for free in April 12 gorgeous botanical gardens you can visit for free Fun things to do in Southern California that are always free Hidden Southern California: Visit this Victorian lighthouse in San Pedro for free Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Get into all national parks for free on April 19 )
Also on site :
- Assault suspect shot by police at Morgan Hill Safeway
- Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Loses Bid to Delay Sex Trafficking Trial
- ‘He’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles’: Trump appears to hold up photoshopped image of Abrego Garcia’s hand