National parks
US national parks: how the whole system works
There are 63 designated national parks in the United States and over 400 sites in the wider park system. The parks themselves are the easy part. The booking machinery around them is what catches people out, and it is the same machinery everywhere, so learning it once pays off for every trip you take after this one.
The pass question, settled
If you will visit three or more parks in a year, buy the annual America the Beautiful pass. It covers entry for everyone in one vehicle at every federal recreation site, and it pays for itself in about three parks. Buy it at the first entrance gate you reach, or online before you go.
| Pass | Price | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| Annual (resident) | $80 | US citizens and residents. One vehicle, one year, every federal site. |
| Annual (non-resident) | $250 | Visitors from outside the US. Covers the nonresident fee below. |
| Senior annual | $20 | US citizens and residents 62 and over. |
| Senior lifetime | $80 | US citizens and residents 62 and over. Once, forever. |
| Military | Free | Current members, veterans and Gold Star families. |
| Access | Free | US citizens and residents with a permanent disability. |
| Fourth grade | Free | US fourth graders and their vehicle, for the school year. |
| Volunteer | Free | After 250 service hours on federal land. |
Checked August 2026 against the National Park Service. Prices change on 1 January, so confirm on the official passes page before you buy.
Entry fees are charged per vehicle at most drive-in parks, not per person, and the pass you buy at the gate covers seven days. A single park annual pass is a good trade if you are only visiting one park more than twice in a year.
What each park actually charges
| Park | Vehicle | Motorcycle | Per person | Park annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acadia | $35 | $30 | $20 | $70 |
| Arches | $30 | $25 | $15 | $55 |
| Glacier | $35 | $30 | $20 | $70 |
| Grand Canyon | $35 | $30 | $20 | $70 |
| Grand Teton | $35 | $30 | $20 | $70 |
| Great Smoky Mountains | No entry fee | No entry fee | No entry fee | Parking $40 |
| Joshua Tree | $30 | $25 | $15 | $55 |
| Olympic | $30 | $25 | $15 | $55 |
| Rocky Mountain | $35 | $30 | $20 | $70 |
| Yellowstone | $35 | $30 | $20 | $70 |
| Yosemite | $35 | $30 | $20 | $70 |
| Zion | $35 | $30 | $20 | $70 |
Checked August 2026 against each park's official fee page. Per-person rates apply on foot or by bicycle, age 16 and over. Glacier drops to $20 per vehicle from 1 November to 30 April. Rocky Mountain also sells a one-day vehicle pass at $30. Great Smoky Mountains charges no entrance fee but requires a parking tag, $5 daily or $15 weekly, for any stop over 15 minutes.
Do the arithmetic
Three headline parks at $35 each is $105, so the $80 annual pass wins on the third gate. Two parks and a national monument, and you are better off paying at the gate.
The $100 nonresident fee, new for 2026
From 1 January 2026, eleven parks charge visitors who do not live in the United States $100 per person, aged 16 and over, on top of the normal entrance fee. It applies at Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Everglades, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion.
The $250 non-resident annual pass waives it, and it covers the whole vehicle. For two adults visiting one of those eleven parks the pass is already the cheaper option, and for a family it is not close. If you are driving down from Canada for a Rockies loop, buy it before you plan anything else.
| Approach | Cost | Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Pay at the gate, one park | $35 + $200 | Seven days at that park only |
| Non-resident annual pass | $250 | Every federal site for a year, whole vehicle |
| Pay at the gate, three parks | $105 + $600 | Seven days at each |
The nonresident fee is charged per person per park, which is why the pass overtakes it almost immediately.
- Free entry days: a handful each year, including the park service birthday in August. From 2026 those days are free for US citizens and residents only, and popular parks are correspondingly busy on them.
- Passes bought before 2026 are honoured on their original terms until they expire.
- Children under 16 enter free everywhere, and are not charged the nonresident fee.
Timed entry is the thing that ruins trips
A growing number of popular parks require a reservation just to drive in during peak season, on top of your entry fee. This is separate from camping, separate from your pass, and it sells out. The specific parks and the exact rules change every single year, so treat any blog post about it, including this one, as a hint rather than a fact.
- 1 Six to eight months out, check the park's official page for whether it runs timed entry, and when the booking window opens.
- 2 Put the booking window opening date in your calendar with an alarm. Popular slots go in minutes, not hours.
- 3 Book on Recreation.gov the moment the window opens. Have an account with a saved card ready first.
- 4 Missed it? Most parks release a batch of next-day permits the evening before. Set another alarm.
- 5 No reservation at all? Enter before the window opens, usually early morning, or after it closes in the evening.
The booking calendar to keep in your head
- Campsites
- Often 6 months ahead, to the day, at 10am ET
- Backcountry permits
- Lottery, usually 4 to 6 months ahead
- Timed entry
- Varies by park, often 1 to 3 months out
- In-park lodges
- Up to 13 months ahead, and yes they go
The lesson is that the good stuff is booked far earlier than feels reasonable. If you are reading this in April about a July trip to a headline park, aim for the first-come sites, the shoulder hours and the less famous neighbour park. That trip is still very good.
Going when everyone else is not
Roughly half of all park visits happen in June, July and August. September is the single best trade in American travel: warm days, thin crowds, no school holidays, and in the north, the start of colour. May is the spring equivalent, with the caveat that high-elevation roads may still be closed by snow.
Book it and check it
- Entrance fees by park The official fee table for all 400+ sites. The last word on the numbers above. https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/entrance-fee-prices.htm
- Buy an annual pass America the Beautiful and every discounted variant. https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm
- Nonresident fees Which eleven parks charge it, who pays, and how the pass waives it. https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/nonresident-fees.htm
- Find a park Every park page, with its own hours, fees and closure notices. https://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm
- Recreation.gov Campsites, timed entry and permits for most federal land. https://www.recreation.gov
- Fee-free days The handful of days with no entrance fee, and the crowds they bring. https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks.htm
Common questions
- Do I need to book a national park in advance?
- For entry, only at the parks running timed entry, and only in peak season. For camping and lodging inside a park, yes, almost always, and much earlier than you would expect.
- What does the America the Beautiful pass cover?
- Entry for the pass holder and everyone in their vehicle at every national park and federal recreation site for a year, for $80. It does not cover camping, timed entry reservations, or tours.
- How much does it cost to enter a US national park?
- Most big drive-in parks charge $30 or $35 per vehicle for seven days, and a few charge nothing at all. The fee covers everyone in the vehicle rather than each person.
- Do foreign visitors pay more at US national parks?
- Yes. Since January 2026 eleven parks charge non-US residents aged 16 and over an extra $100 per person, which the $250 non-resident annual pass waives for a whole vehicle.
- What is the cheapest way to visit several parks?
- The annual pass plus camping. Entry becomes free after three parks, and a campsite costs a fraction of a gateway-town hotel.
- When is the least busy time to visit a national park?
- Mid-September through October, and again in May. Weekdays are dramatically quieter than weekends at every park in the system.
Tip
Build the trip in Treader with the drive legs in place, and you will see immediately that the four-hour transfer you planned for the afternoon actually eats the day. Park distances lie on a map. See Plan a road trip that survives contact with the road.