The announcement means a steep increase in national park fees for tourists to the U.S., who will also see the cost of buying an annual pass for themselves rise.
Keep reading for what we know about the new national park fees for 2026.
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At which national parks do non-U.S. residents have to pay higher fees?
Starting Jan. 1, 2026, a $100 per-person fee — charged on top of the typical fee of $35 per vehicle — will apply to entry for foreigners ages 16 and older at 11 of the country’s most-visited national parks (see below).
A spokesperson for the Department of the Interior confirmed in an email to KQED that the new fees will apply for the amount of time the entry ticket is valid. For Yosemite, for example, the $100 per-person fee would be valid for seven days of entry to the park, just like the $35 vehicle fee.
In California, Yosemite National Park and Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks will be affected.
Elsewhere, other national parks where non U.S. residents will have to pay the extra fees are:
- Acadia National Park, Maine
- Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
- Everglades National Park, Florida
- Glacier National Park, Montana
- Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona
- Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
- Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
- Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
- Zion National Park, Utah
To date this year, these 11 parks have seen around a combined 23 million visitors. The National Park Service doesn’t currently track the proportion of visitors coming to parks from outside the U.S.
How much will an annual pass be for tourists to the U.S.?
Currently, an $80 annual National Park Service pass is available to all, with no residency requirements.
But as of Jan. 1, an annual national parks pass for non U.S. residents, which will allow free entry at any national park, will be $250 per passholder.
How will these fees for international travelers be enforced?
According to the Department of the Interior, all visitors age 16 and older with annual passes will be asked to present a U.S. government-issued photo ID at the entrance of every national park, such as a passport or state driver’s license.
Those who don’t have a U.S. ID to present “will be asked to upgrade to the nonresident annual pass,” a DOI spokesperson told KQED by email.
“Visitors will confirm their residency by providing a ZIP code when purchasing a pass online and must present a U.S. government-issued photo ID when using it,” said the DOI spokesperson.
What should U.S. residents know about changes to national parks entry next year?
To enforce annual pass compliance for non-U.S. residents, starting Jan. 1, all visitors age 16 and older with annual passes will be asked to present a U.S. government-issued photo ID to prove their U.S. residency. Currently, a national parks annual pass bears a message requiring the pass to be signed by the passholder, who must be present and provide “Valid Photo ID.”
This month’s DOI announcement also included the launch of digital annual passes for national parks, which can be bought and accessed online.
The new entry policies will also allow two motorcycles, rather than just one, to enter under a single annual park pass in 2026.
The lineup of the national parks’ fee-free days has also been altered. Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth have been removed from the list of days on which visitors can enter the park for free. Flag Day on June 16, which is also President Trump’s birthday, has been added, as has Constitution Day on Sept. 17. The fee-free days, listed here, do not apply to non-U.S. residents.
Next year’s annual passes will also feature new graphics on the cards to commemorate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, featuring the faces of former President George Washington and President Trump.
Is there any way for international visitors to avoid the higher fees?
The new fees go into effect Jan. 1, 2026. But because annual passes are punched on the date of purchase and are valid for 12 months on a rolling basis, some online are recommending that non U.S. residents intending to visit any national parks in 2026 purchase a pass now under the current rate system, to save money next year.
A spokesperson for the DOI confirmed to KQED by email that “international visitors with a valid 2025 pass can use that pass until it expires.”
In response to the announcement, the Mariposa County Tourism Bureau published a guide to help foreign travelers navigate the new fee structure. In it, the organization recommends that most groups of international visitors who plan to visit more than one national park in 2026 purchase the $250 annual pass for non U.S. residents — but that solo travelers or couples who are only planning to visit one park, like Yosemite, should probably swallow the $100 per-person fee.
Elisabeth Barton, founding member and CEO of tour company Echo Adventure Cooperative, which operates guided tours in and around Yosemite and Stanislaus National Forest, said tour groups like hers are still waiting on specifics for how the fee change might affect groups entering the park. However, she’s expecting to know more details later in December.
Barton said she’s considering adding certain tours, like more of those operating just outside the park’s boundaries, to cater especially to international visitors in an attempt to keep costs down for them. She pointed to a number of rafting and Jeep tour operators who already offer these price-reduced tours.
In the meantime, she even recommended buying the $70 annual Yosemite-only pass as the best current option, “even though it is expensive,” — if only to avoid what she called the “demeaning” exercise of having to produce paperwork when entering and exiting the park.
“We don’t have the full picture yet,” she said.
Why is the U.S. government increasing national park fees for international travelers?
According to a DOI spokesperson, the fee increase is a direct response to President Donald Trump’s July 3 executive order that instructed the Interior Secretary to increase park pass rates for nonresidents.
Revenue from the increased fees is slated to go to park facility upgrades, maintenance and services, according to the Department of the Interior’s press release.
