Enjoy the changing weather with your family during National Park Week (April 16-24), where you can get free admission to 394 national parks. Fee waiver includes entrance fees, commercial tour fees and transportation entrance fees. Plus, several national park concessioners will also be providing special offers to help you save even more.
Be sure to check out the calendar of events to find out what’s going on at your chosen destination, including Volunteer Day on April 16 and Junior Ranger Day on April 23.
For those living in Minnesota, national parks in our state include Grand Portage National Monument (where my husband and I – Laura – spent part of our honeymoon), Pipestone National Monument, Voyageurs National Park (one of my husband’s favorite places to go), and more.
Your turn: How many national parks have you been to? Which one is your favorite?
About Laura Wales
Pipestone Park is the only MN one participating.
If there’s a government shutdown the parks will be closed.
Pipestone is the only one “participating” because Pipestone is the only one that actually charges an entrance fee. So don’t let that stop you from visiting others! Grand Portage & Voyageurs don’t charge anything to get in year-round.
Another MN nat’l park that’s not mentioned is the Mississippi River & Recreation Area (http://www.nps.gov/miss/index.htm), right in the Twin Cities. It doesn’t charge anything to get in year-round. (But, some of its neighbors do, so check their webpage.)
Also, St. Croix Nat’l Scenic Riverway (http://www.nps.gov/sacn/index.htm), headquartered in St. Croix Falls, WI, is very close for many Minnesotans, especially those in the Twin Cities (closer than any of the three that were listed). But, it never seems to get mentioned, I’m guessing because of the location of its headquarters(?). It too doesn’t charge anything to get in year-round.
Chins up! Even if there’s a gov’t shutdown, it will (hopefully) be temporary, & your beautiful parks – with no entrance fees! – will be waiting for you & your families to enjoy. After all, they belong to all of us.
(Full disclosure: we’re a one-income family & yes, my DH is a park service employee, so we’re really hoping it doesn’t shutdown! Yikes! Don’t think even PYD’s deals can help when there’s “no income”.)