NEWS
The National Park Service Cuts Back on Free Entry Days
Source: Getty Images
The National Park Service has announced they will cut back on the number of free entry days they offer the public.
JUST ANNOUNCED: There will be 4 fee-free days to #FindYourPark in 2018!
— NationalParkService (@NatlParkService) December 12, 2017
1/15 – #MLKDay
4/21 – 1st day of #NationalParkWeek
9/22 – National Public Lands Day #NPLD
11/11 – #VeteransDay https://t.co/0dOmRuvoBb pic.twitter.com/0MrwSLItHu
The news, which has been met with dismay from many, means there will only be four free days in 2018. According to the Associated Press this is a drop of 60 percent from the ten free days offered in 2017, and a 75 percent reduction in the 16 free days that were offered in 2016.
National Parks Spokesperson, Kathy Kupper, told ABC the move is linked to the fact the country is “recovering from the recession” and that in 2009 following the recession the number of free days were increased to “encourage visitation by citizens with financial constraints.” Kupper told ABC between the years of 2003 and 2008 the National Park Service only offered two free entry days per year.
The free entry days for 2018 will be Martin Luther King Jr Day (January 15), the first day of National Park Weeks (April 21), National Public Lands Day (September 22) and Veterans Day (November 11).
