National Parks Service Removes MLK Day & Juneteenth

MLK Day & Juneteenth no longer qualify for free national park entry.
Trump's birthday was added to the list of free park days.
Advocacy groups criticize the move as reinforcing inequalities in park access.

The Trump administration has changed which holidays qualify for free entrance to national parks. According to SFGATE, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth were removed from the list, while President Donald Trump’s June 14 birthday was added.

MLK Day has traditionally been the first fee-free day of the year for national parks. The holiday is a federal observance held on the third Monday of January and has historically included free entrance and volunteer service events across the National Park Service system.

According to the National Park Service, 116 parks currently charge entrance fees that range from 3 to $30. SFGATE states that visitors will no longer receive free admission on MLK Day or Juneteenth, but the new policy will allow free access on Trump’s birthday.

Four Free Days Gone and One Birthday In

SFGATE reports that four additional free entrance days were removed. Those include National Public Lands Day, the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act, MLK Day, and Juneteenth.

The remaining free entrance days for 2026 include Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day weekend, the National Park Service’s 110th birthday, Constitution Day, Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday, and Veterans Day.

Interior and NPS Stay Silent on the Decision

SFGATE reports that the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service did not respond to questions about why MLK Day and Juneteenth were removed.

Advocacy groups shared concerns with SFGATE about the change. Tyrhee Moore, the executive director of Soul Trak Outdoors, told the outlet that “this policy shift is deeply concerning” and that removing free entrance days on these holidays “sends a troubling message about who our national parks are for.” Moore told SFGATE that these dates hold cultural and historical significance and that policies “like this reinforce inequalities around access.”

Olivia Juarez, the public land program director for GreenLatinos, told SFGATE that her organization “condemns the omission” of the four eliminated holidays and stated that these observances “are patriotic days that celebrate freedom and safety in the outdoors.”

The Longstanding Role of MLK Day in Park Service History

MLK Day was designated by Congress in 1994 as a National Day of Service. The Park Service has previously hosted volunteer events on that day, including planting native plants, removing graffiti, and litter pickup.

Park Service sites recognizing King include the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta, the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Georgia, the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail in Alabama, and the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC.

SFGATE reports that the Lincoln Memorial, where King delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech, is also managed by the Park Service.

A Shift That Mirrors Other Moves to Control Park Narratives

The policy change comes during a period when the Trump administration has directed parks to monitor exhibits for information that they no longer want to consider for their own agenda. For example, SFGATE reports that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told park officials in May to display signs asking visitors to report negative information about past or living Americans.

The outlet states that the signs appeared at Manzanar National Historic Site in June and that an exhibit addressing colonial violence against Indigenous communities was removed from Muir Woods during the summer. Also, historians are archiving signs that may be removed and that visitors have used QR codes, originally intended to report negative content, to submit comments supporting the Park Service.

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