All National Parks Are Offering Free Admission This Saturday

The Grand Canyon can be all yours—minus the admission fee.
The Grand Canyon can be all yours—minus the admission fee. / erikharrison/iStock via Getty Images
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Looking for something to do this weekend that's both outdoorsy and free? In honor of National Park Week, you can visit any one of the National Park Service's more than 400 parks on Saturday, April 17, 2021 for free.

While many of the NPS's parks are free year-round, the organization will be waiving entrance fees to the more than 100 parks that normally come with an admission price. Which means that you can pay a visit to the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yosemite, or Yellowstone National Parks without actually paying for the visit.

It's the second of six days in 2021 when the National Park Service does away with its fees. Which makes this weekend the perfect time to get out and explore the national parks in your area—or to plan a road trip to one you've never visited before—like New River Gorge in West Virginia, which is one of the newest parks on the NPS's list. (Just be sure to check the park's official website ahead of time to be aware of any changed hours or special COVID-19 protocols that might be in place.)

The National Park Service maintains 423 designated NPS areas that span more than 85 million acres across every state, plus Washington, DC, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.