Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.5, the National Park Service (NPS) will implement the following temporary and/or intermittent closures Thursday, August 20, 2026, of certain designated parklands at George Washington Memorial Parkway, the National Mall and Memorial Parks, and National Capitol Parks East as delineated in the attached map.
In celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix will take place in Washington, D.C. on August 22 and 23, 2026. This event includes participation of members from all branches of the armed services and as part of the broadcast, special segments for each branch are being produced. Filming for the U.S. Coast Guard segment will take place on NPS lands on August 20, 2026.
The USPP has determined it necessary to temporarily close the following locations to vehicle traffic on Thursday, August 20, 2026:
Between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m.
Between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
This temporary, partial closure is necessary to protect public safety and prevent conflicts 1 between visitors and the permittee. The filming equipment poses a potential hazard to individuals in the immediate vicinity, making it necessary to restrict public access to the impacted area while filming is underway. These temporary closures are not of a nature, magnitude and duration that will result in a “significant alteration in the public use pattern.” Further, the public use limit and closure will not adversely affect the parks’ natural, aesthetic or cultural values, is not of a highly controversial nature, and does not require a long-term or significant modification in the resource management objectives of any affected park. Rather, these closures are limited temporally and geographically as much as practicable while still providing for the safety and security of this activity, which is similar in certain respects to other events, including having wide appeal to the general public both locally and from further away. This closure still allows for public access to a significant amount of park land around the impacted areas. Closures and public use limits such as these are commonplace for these types of public events with large, expected attendance and significant load-in and load-out requirements, and are necessary to provide the public with as much access as possible to park land while also addressing the event security and public safety concerns that the United States Park Police has identified for this event.
Accordingly, the National Park Service determines publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register is unwarranted under 36 C.F.R. § 1.5(b). This is consistent with hundreds of earlier partial and temporary park closures or public use limitations, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications. Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-1715 (D.D.C. August 29, 2002), plaintiff’s emergency motion for injunction pending appeal denied Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02- 5275 (D.C. Cir. September 9, 2002) (per curiam); Picciotto v. United States, No. 99-2113 (D.D.C. August 6, 1999); Picciotto v. United States, No. 94-1935 (D.D.C. September 9, 1994); Picciotto v. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C. May 30, 1990); Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C. January 26, 1988); Spiegel v. Babbitt, 855 F. Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994), aff'd in part w/o op. 56 F.3d 1531 (D.C. Cir. 1995), reported in full, 1995 US App. Lexis 15200 (D.C. Cir. May 31, 1995). Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.7, notice of this temporary and partial closure and public use limit will be made through media advisories, maps, and by posting at conspicuous locations in the affected park areas. Finally, pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request.
Jennifer T. Nersesian, Regional Director /s/ 8/19/26
National Capital Region
