Sponsors (7)
The bill expands affordable access to federal parks on designated holiday-linked days—benefiting families, low-income visitors, volunteers, and local tourism—while shifting revenue and visitation burdens onto park operations and resources unless additional funding or management measures are provided.
Families, low-income individuals, students, and other visitors: six annual fee-free days (tied to holidays) lower the cost of visiting national parks and federal recreation areas, increasing affordability and access.
Local communities, volunteers, and small businesses: concentrated fee-free days can boost public engagement, volunteer stewardship events, and local tourism/business activity around parks.
Park managers and state/local partners: preserves the Secretary's authority to designate additional fee-free days, giving agencies flexibility for outreach, special events, or coordination with states.
Taxpayers and park units: adding fee-free days reduces entrance-fee revenue that many parks use for operations and maintenance, potentially leaving service gaps if not offset by appropriations.
Visitors and park resources: concentrating visits on fee-free holiday dates risks crowding, greater wear-and-tear on natural and built resources, and strain on staffing and infrastructure.
Small, recreation-dependent businesses and some local economies: visitation concentrated on a few free days can create uneven demand (busy spikes on free days, quieter other times), complicating revenue stability for local businesses.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Requires free admission or use at National Park System units and other federal recreational lands on six named days each year and allows additional fee-free days at the Secretary's discretion.
Introduced December 10, 2025 by Catherine Marie Cortez Masto · Last progress December 10, 2025
Requires the Secretary of the Interior to provide free public admission or use at units of the National Park System and other federal recreational lands and waters on six specified days each year: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; the first day of National Park Week; Juneteenth; Great American Outdoors Day; National Public Lands Day; and Veterans Day. The change replaces discretionary language with a requirement for these six days while still allowing the Secretary to designate additional fee-free days.