Interior Department Hikes Prices for Foreigners to Visit National Parks

U.S. residents will continue to pay the current price for an annual pass, officials announced.

Hikers in the Grand Canyon National Park in a file image. Sebastien Duval/AFP via Getty Images

Foreigners will have to pay higher prices to go to national parks, the Department of the Interior said on Nov. 25.

While U.S. residents, starting Jan. 1, 2026, will still be able to buy the annual parks pass for $80, nonresidents will be charged $250, the department said in an update to its website. The annual pass enables unlimited entry for no additional charges to any of the parks for one year.

Foreigners who do not have an annual pass will have to pay a $100 fee to enter 11 of the national parks that receive the most visits, including Acadia National Park in Maine, Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The fee is on top of the standard entrance fee, which varies by park and can run up to $35 per vehicle or $20 per person.

A third change involves holidays on which entrance to parks was previously free for all visitors. The holidays include Presidents’ Day and Constitution Day. Moving forward, entry will only be free for U.S. residents.

President Donald Trump’s administration is implementing the changes to promote the president’s America-first agenda, according to the department.

“President Trump’s leadership always puts American families first,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. “These policies ensure that U.S. 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.”

Revenue from the changes will be used to upgrade facilities and in other ways to improve the parks, the department said.

Record numbers of visits have been achieved at the parks in recent years, including a record of 331.9 million visits across all parks in 2024. New records for total visits were recorded at 28 parks last year, and 38 parks saw visitation above their 10-year average in every month of the year.

The escalating number of visits has caused some parks to require reservations for the entire park or popular trails, such as the trail up Old Rag Mountain in Shenandoah National Park.

The Department of the Interior does not yet report visitor data by country of residence.

The department also announced Tuesday that people who buy annual passes and other passes will be able to access them digitally through mobile devices. The passes previously had been available only in physical form.

The department also said the annual passes will cover two motorcycles per pass, rather than one.