P.O. Box 577
Yosemite, CA 95389
www.nps.gov/yose/news

209 372-0529 phone
209 372-0371 fax

August 15, 2003
For Immediate Release

Yosemite National Park Celebrates Founders Day with Free Entry

Yosemite National Park will be celebrating the 87th birthday of the National Park Service by admitting visitors to Yosemite free of charge. Founders Day is celebrated every August 25th and is marked by free admission to the park. Passes issued on Founder’s Day are valid for free entry into the park from Monday, August 25, 2002 through Sunday, August 31, 2002.

The annual free day was created in 1988 when Congress authorized the National Park Service to designate one day each year when visitors could enjoy the parks without paying an entrance fee. The free day is good only for admission to the park. User fees for camping and other activities are not included. Yosemite's entrance fee is regularly $20 per private vehicle and is good for a seven-day period.

Founded on August 25, 1916, the National Park Service was established "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

-NPS-