How to Visit the National Park Tomorrow for Free
Over the past six months, parks – whether local, state or national – have provided a much-needed respite from the monotony of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. While we must all continue to follow all public health guidelines to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus , spending time in parks gives us the opportunity to put on good sweatpants or shorts, risk getting out of the house and spending time in nature.
If you’ve been thinking about going to a national park but were put off by the cost of admission, you might have a chance to go tomorrow because the National Park Service (NPS) is canceling admission fees . This is great news, but it has fine print. Here’s what you need to know before packing a station wagon.
How to get free admission to national parks
Each year, the NPS announces a list of free admission days , and this year, including tomorrow, August 25, marks the 104th birthday of the service . Back in March, several national parks closed or restricted access to some of their facilities and attractions to prevent the spread of COVID-19. They have been slowly opening since May in accordance with public health directives.
But for now, many of these restrictions remain in place. So if you really wanted to go to Delaware Water Gap , for example, you should know that many of its public facilities, including some toilets, are temporarily closed.
There are two ways to find out about possible closure at your chosen destination. First, check to see if the NPS has issued any active alerts at your face value; this page is relatively detailed, but just in case, you can also search for a separate park on the NPS website for more information on closures, restrictions and new rules. And if you want to go even further, you can always call the park or historic site you think of and speak to someone on earth who will provide you with the freshest information.