Academic Fee Waiver

National Park Service regulations allow school groups and other approved national and international academic institutions to obtain a waiver of Park entrance fees, provided that visit is for educational or scientific purposes, and the resources or facilities that the group intends to use, support those purposes.

Applicant groups must demonstrate that they meet three requirements to qualify for an academic fee waiver: eligibility, educational purpose, and relevancy of Park resources or facilities.

Eligibility: Applicants must prove they are an academic or scientific institution.

Educational purpose: Applicants must provide a written statement confirming that the Park visit supports a specific curriculum for which academic credit is offered.

Relevance: Applicants must provide a written explanation identifying the Park resources and/or facilities that will be used and how those resources are relevant to support the educational purpose.

Academic fee waivers are granted only if the above three criteria are met. Fee waiver requests for recreational activities such as hiking or camping that are not part of a curriculum or course study do not meet the criteria.

 

To request an academic fee waiver:

Mail or email (pdf file) an academic fee waiver request at least two weeks in advance of your planned visit.

  1. Download the Education Reservation Request Form (391 kb).

  2. Fill out Section 1, Section 2 and Section 5. You do not need to fill out sections 3-4.

  3. Send your request to the Shenandoah National Park Fee Office:
    Email: douglas_swanson@nps.gov (email us)
    or
    Mail: Fee Office
    Shenandoah National Park
    3655 U.S. Highway 211 East
    Luray, VA 22835
    Attn: Academic Fee Waiver Request

Last updated: August 16, 2023

Park footer

Contact Info

Mailing Address:

Shenandoah National Park
3655 U.S. Highway 211 East

Luray, VA 22835

Phone:

540 999-3500
Emergency Phone: 1-800-732-0911

Contact Us