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Padre Island National Seashore Announces Entrance Fee-Free Days for 2021Padre Island National Seashore will waive its entrance fee on six days in 2021. The fee-free days are part of the Trump Administration’s unprecedented commitment to increase access, promote recreational opportunities, improve visitor facilities and conserve natural and historical treasures in national parks for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people. The six entrance fee-free days for 2021 will be:
- Monday, January 18 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Saturday, April 17 – First Day of National Park Week
- Wednesday, August 4 – Great American Outdoors Act anniversary
- Wednesday, August 25 – National Park Service Birthday
- Saturday, September 25 – National Public Lands Day
- Thursday, November 11 – Veterans Day
Current Padre Island National Seashore daily entrance fees are $10 per vehicle and $7 per motorcycle. The entrance fee waiver for the fee-free days does not cover amenity or user fees for activities such as camping or boat launches. Annual passes for Padre Island National Seashore are available for $45, and seven-day passes are $25.
Padre Island National Seashore is one of approximately 100 national parks that has an entrance fee. The National Park System includes more than 85 million acres and is comprised of more than 400 sites, including national parks, national historical parks, national monuments, national recreation areas, national battlefields, and national seashores.
Last year, 327 million people visited national parks and spent $21 billion, which supported 340,500 jobs across the country and had a $41.7 billion impact on the U.S. economy.
In 2019, Padre Island National Seashore welcomed 576,299 visitors who contributed $29.1 million to the local economy.Earlier this year, Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt signed Secretary’s Orders 3386 and 3387, granting veterans, Gold Star Families and fifth graders free access to all national parks, wildlife refuges and other Federal lands managed by the Department of the Interior. Veterans and Gold Star Families will have free access forever, while fifth grade students were granted the reprieve through this academic year as some of last year’s fourth graders may have been unable to make full use of the Every Kid Outdoors Annual Fourth Grade Pass due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Active duty military and fourth grade students will continue to have free access, and discounted passes are also available for senior citizens. For other visitors who love visiting our public lands, the annual $80 America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass is a great option, which allows unlimited entrance to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including all national parks.
Other federal land management agencies offering their own fee-free days in 2021 include the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.We ask the public recreate responsibly by adopting social distancing practices and wearing a face covering when social distance cannot be maintained.
Additional trip planning and health guidance is available on the NPS COVID-19 response website.
Updates on the park’s operations will be posted on the park’s website and social media channels at www.nps.gov/PAIS.www.nps.govAbout the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 419 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov, and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
Last updated: March 8, 2021