Donald Trump Proposes Changes to the National Park’s Free Admission Schedule
The new schedule has been met with a lot of backlash.
Published Dec. 11 2025, 8:57 a.m. ET
Many people love hearing that they will be able to get free access to something that they would otherwise have to pay a fee for. However, an announcement from the Trump administration regarding which days will qualify as free admission days in 2026 has many people up in arms after some familiar dates were nixed from the calendar.
The changes come as President Trump doubles down on a commitment to do away with any diversity or inclusion efforts put forth by prior administrations.
The changes are drawing national criticism from both parkgoers who were hoping to take advantage of free entry to the country's vast national parks, as well as organizations committed to helping the country move forward in a way that represents everyone who lives here.
You can find out more about Trump's free national parks days, as well as some other changes he has proposed for the National Park Service (NPS), below.
Trump changes the free admission dates for the national parks.
The Trump administration kicked off December by sharing a new NPS calendar, which has changed the dates when parkgoers are eligible to access the country's 63 national parks free of charge. Some notable changes include removing Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Jan. 19, 2026) and Juneteenth (June 19, 2026).
The NPS said that the changes were part of a larger effort to move toward "modernization," however, the changes are being viewed as racist by critics.
That's because the dates that have been removed from the calendar largely honor Black history. That's something that 510 Hikers leader Nick Collins is calling out as part of his organization's effort to help make green spaces more accessible and inclusive.
"There's an undermining of the progress that was being made to make these national parks more accessible to Black people especially, who had been historically, it felt like they had been left out," Collins told ABC News.
Donald Trump's birthday will now qualify as a free admission date in the country's national parks.
While parkgoers are losing two dates from the existing NPS calendar, they may notice a new one when traveling to the country's parks: Trump's birthday.
According to The Guardian, Trump's birthday on June 14 (which is also Flag Day) will be added to the list of free admission dates in 2026. The publication notes this is in line with Trump's efforts to promote his own name over the storied history of the country and those public figures and dates that have made it what it is today.
In addition to Trump's birthday, the following dates will also grant NPS visitors free access to the parks in 2026:
- President's Day (Feb. 16, 2026)
- Memorial Day (May 25, 2026)
- Independence Day (July 4, 2026)
- The anniversary of the founding of the park service (Aug. 25, 2026 — this year is the 110th anniversary)
- Constitution Day (Sep. 17, 2026)
- Veterans Day (Nov. 11, 2026)
- President Theodore Roosevelt's birthday (Oct. 27, 2026)
Another Trump-centric change parkgoers may see in 2026? In an unprecedented move, Trump's face is expected to appear on the annual passes in 2026.
However, the Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit to put a stop to that change, since the organization argues that it violates the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, according to Fox News.