The Department of Interior recently announced a few changes that will impact how people access America’s national parks in 2026. In a press release, the National Park Service (NPS) laid out all the changes to America the Beautiful annual passes and introduced a new fee structure for non-residents.
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First, digital versions of the America the Beautiful passes will be available as of January 1, 2026, alongside digital-validation tools at park-entry points. Hopefully, this move to digital will make it more convenient to purchase, access, and use passes. (It may even speed up entry to parks, if enough people adopt them.) Another key change is that America the Beautiful passes will now cover two motorcycles per pass.Â
Pricing for 2026
NPS says the annual pass will cost $80 for U.S. residents and $250 for non-residents. Starting January 1, 2026, non-residents (ages 16 and over) without an annual pass will also need to pay a $100 per-person fee to enter 11 of the most-visited national parks (in addition to the standard entrance fee).
[RELATED: These National Parks Made NatGeo’s Best Places to Travel 2026]
The 11 parks that will require an extra fee for non-residents are: Acadia National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Everglades National Park, Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Zion National Park.
Residents can gain free entry to NPS sites on the following days in 2026:
- President’s Day (February 16, 2026)
- Memorial Day (May 25, 2026)
- Flag Day/President Trump’s birthday (June 14, 2026)
- Independence Day weekend (July 3–5, 2026)
- 110th Birthday of the National Park Service (August 25, 2026)
- Constitution Day (Sept. 17, 2026)
- Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday (Oct. 27, 2026)
- Veteran’s Day (November 11, 2026)
Learn more at www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm.
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