Lovers of our amazing landscapes have good reason to celebrate this year: the National Park Service offers five fee-free access days each year. With entry fees steadily rising as time goes on, it’s more important than ever to be in the know about these admission-free days in 2024. It’s a wonderful way to make these splendid (and significant) parks more accessible to a broader spectrum of people and tourists. Our breathtaking parks are an amazing way to reconnect with the natural world around us in particularly remarkable or otherwise splendid places. Each one is worth a trip at least once – and you can check off some on your bucket list on these awesome free days!

Not Your Average Bucket List – Podcast Episode

Our travel experts and Not Your Average Bucket List podcast hosts, Sara and Marisa, dig deeper into National Parks Week, including the history plus some insights into their favorite national parks they’ve been to. If you’re up for an audio adventure before reading below, this is your chance to get some insight from some OnlyInYourState experts. Click below!

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So, there you have it – magical days where you can get in free to our amazing U.S. National Parks. Which ones will you try to visit? Which ones are your favorites? Tell us all about your picks in the comments – we love hearing your stories! For more about the park fee increases that took place back in 2018, click here. For a list of some of the best lesser-known National Park sites in the United States that you’ve got to check out ASAP, check this article out!

And if you’re planning to visit a nearby national park during National Park Week, this article gives you all of the need-to-know information!

OnlyInYourState may earn compensation through affiliate links in this article. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

More to Explore

US National Parks to Visit

What are the most popular National Parks in the USA?  

It’s no secret that the National Parks in the United States are absolutely amazing. After all, they’re National Parks for a reason! There are a whopping 423 National Park Sites scattered around the country; some, of course, get more love than others for some reason or another. Among the National Parks in the USA that see the most visitors per year are Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which sees 12.1 million people enter its gates - making it the single most popular National Park in the country. Then, there’s Yellowstone National Park, which is quite literally world-famous for its spectacular natural beauty and the wonders it contains. It sees 3.8 million visitors annually. In third place is Zion National Park, which sees 3.6 million visitors annually, and is seriously like something out of a science fiction novel. You need to truly experience each one to understand its mind-blowing amazingness. Need more? Check out this list of the most enchanting state and/or National Parks in each state. Which one is your favorite?  

What are the most popular hiking trails in the USA?  

With incredible state and National Parks comes incredible hikes – and honestly, those aren’t limited to only parks. There are tens of thousands of miles of hiking trails woven throughout the USA, and there are certainly some that get millions of people filtering through each year. Among the most popular hiking trails in the USA are Alaska’s Nugget Falls Trail, in Tongass National Forest, the Appalachian Trail, in Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park, the Charles Bunion Hike in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and the Kalalau Hike, in Hawaii’s incredible Ha’ena State Park. You truly have hundreds, if not more, to choose from – guess we’d better lace up those hiking boots, then!