America’s national parks offer some of the country’s most impressive vistas—and that fact draws hundreds of millions of people to them each year. But more changes are on the way in 2026, and visitors aren’t likely to be happy with all of them. 

Anyone traveling to visit a destination that’s part of the National Park System—especially from abroad—should expect to see an array of new policies implemented under the Trump administration, which already made sweeping budget cuts to the National Park Service (NPS) and began to weave its “America First” agenda into some of the country’s most cherished places in 2025.

On some level, the Trump administration is trying to reshape the National Park System into a microcosm of its own ideology, with perks for Americans, higher costs for everyone else, and a new aesthetic that puts a very specific idea of patriotism at its center. 

Starting in 2026, the parks will offer more dates with free entry for visitors, but only U.S. residents will get in at no charge. The Trump administration will remove existing free admission dates on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, while adding a new holiday for President Trump’s birthday. The new “patriotic fee-free” dates for 2026 are as follows:

For days with normal admission, entry into the parks can be obtained through a day pass (previously $35 or less for a vehicle, with a lower cost for visitors without a car) or with the annual America the Beautiful pass. While some parks don’t charge admission at all, the most visited parks do, and that’s where park visitors are likely to notice the changes.

In many instances, day pass pricing will go up for non-U.S. residents, who........

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