Yosemite National Park to Waive Entrance Fee in Celebration of National Public Lands Day and to Honor Newly Naturalized Citizens

Date: September 19, 2008

All National Park Service sites, including Yosemite National Park, will offer free visitor admission on September 27, 2007 for National Public Lands Day. Additionally, all National Park Service sites will also be offering free admission on September 28, 2008 in recognition of newly naturalized citizens.

On July 4, Secretary Dirk Kempthorne issued a press release welcoming newly naturalized citizens to national parks. "Our National Parks celebrate the story of America: our history, our heroes, and the ideal upon which we build our future. With this invitation I want to give our newest citizens, those who have chosen to adopt America as their home, a chance to come and experience those pieces of America for themselves."

In addition to waiving entrance fees, national parks and other public lands will host special programs and volunteer work parties to commemorate the 15th annual National Public Lands Day. Anyone who volunteers on National Public Lands Day will receive a free one day pass valid for future use at any National Park Service site.

In conjunction with National Public Lands Day, national parks will be partnered with groups such as the American Red Cross, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Leave No Trace, and many other cooperating associates. Please visit www.publiclandsday.org for more information. 

One third of the land in the United States has been set aside as open space. 600 million acres of parks, refuges, forests, wetlands, cultural sites, and other shared areas provide a variety of public resources.

National Public Lands Day is the only time that entrance fees are waived systematically on public lands throughout the country. Normally, 147 of the country’s 391 National Park Service sites charge entrance fees ranging from $3 to $25. The other 244 areas do not have entrance fees. U.S. Veterans are admitted to national parks for free each year on Veteran’s Day.

Additional federal agencies participating in National Public Lands Day include the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the U.S. Forest Service.