The US is home to some of the best national parks on the planet, but if you’re an international visitor who has travel plans to one or more of these brilliant sites in 2026, we’ve got some bad news.
It’s just been announced by the secretary of the interior Doug Burgum that a new initiative will significantly increase both individual park fees and the cost of an annual pass, as the Trump administration ‘always puts American families first’. This follows an executive order from the President back in July, which called on parks to increase fees for foreign tourists.
‘These policies ensure that US taxpayers, who already support the national park system, continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations,’ he said, according to The Times.
How much will the new entry fees cost international travellers?
What this means for international travellers is that from January, the annual pass will increase from $80 to $250, and the fees to enter parks on an individual basis – which currently ranges between $10-35, no matter your citizenship status – will now have a surcharge of $100 on top of the standard entrance fee.
The interior department also said that ‘resident-only patriotic fee-free days’ will take place on US holidays, including Memorial Day, Independence Day, and the President’s birthday on June 14.
Which national parks are affected?
The new fees will be implemented in the 11 most visited national parks in the country. That includes:
- Yosemite
- Yellowstone
- Zion
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon
- Grand Canyon
- Everglades
- Rocky Mountain
- Grand Teton
- Glacier
- Bryce Canyon
- Acadia
Why are entry fees going up?
The country’s parks have been struggling with severe budget cuts since the beginning of the current administration, as well as a sharp drop in the number of international visitors and significantly fewer staff.
With the increased fees, according to estimations by US think tank Property and Environment Research Centre, revenue from national park entry will soar from an annual to $349 million to a staggering $1.5 billion.
It’s thought that 80 percent of the money raised from these hiked fees will be kept by the park from which it was collected, and the other 20 percent will be redistributed to help with the maintenance and running of parks with lower visitor numbers.
Bit too pricey? Why not check out all the other brilliant national parks all over the planet?
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