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Spend the day at a national park for free this Sunday
August 4 is one of six free days this year
There are only six days a year when all the national parks are free—and this Sunday, August 4, is one of them. If you’re close to a park, grab your backpack and slather on the sunscreen because this is your weekend to embrace nature.
You may be wondering what’s special about August 4. It’s the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act of 2020, which provided funding to help the parks improve infrastructure and expand their recreational offerings. A fund set up with the act (created by energy development revenue) gives the parks $1.3 billion a year for five years to significantly improve them. Many of the parks had a backlog of repair work and maintenance.
For a few quick examples, that fund helped build a new seawall to replace the deteriorating 1954 bulkhead in the Flamingo area of Florida’s Everglades National Park, creating a new maintenance building at Maine’s Acadia National Park to replace unsafe old ones, repairing the road between Badger Pass and Glacier Point in California’s Yosemite National Park and replacing the bridge over McDonald Creek in Montana’s Yellowstone National Park.
Back to you and your backpack. The free day applies to parks that usually charge admission—there are many that do not. But it also causes a bit of a crinkle since some national parks don’t charge admission but are inaccessible without paying some other fee. A great example of this is the prison island Alcatraz in San Francisco Bay. Although it is free to enter every day, the ferry that transports you to the island is not, so the free day doesn’t really apply here. This page lists all the parks participating in the free day.
Busy on Sunday and can’t get to the park? You can get into any national park any day for free if you can bring along a fourth grader in the car. Just don’t let them drive. The remaining free days for this year will be September 28 and November 11.
- NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD
Antietam
Sharpsburg, MD
23,000 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing after twelve hours of savage combat on September 17, 1862. The Battle of Antietam ended the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia's first invasion into the North and led Abraham Lincoln to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
- NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL
Appalachian
Maine to Georgia, CT,GA,MA,MD,ME,NC,NH,NJ,NY,PA,TN,VA,VT,WV
The Appalachian Trail is a 2,190+ mile long public footpath that traverses the scenic, wooded, pastoral, wild, and culturally resonant lands of the Appalachian Mountains. Conceived in 1921, built by private citizens, and completed in 1937, today the trail is managed by the National Park Service, US Forest Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, numerous state agencies and thousands of volunteers.
- NATIONAL SEASHORE
Assateague Island
MD,VA
Want to live on the edge? Visit a place recreated each day by ocean wind and waves. Life on Assateague Island has adapted to an existence on the move. Explore sandy beaches, salt marshes, maritime forests and coastal bays. Rest, relax, recreate and enjoy some time on the edge of the continent.
- PARKWAY
Baltimore-Washington
Washington D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland, MD
This 29-mile highway connects Baltimore, MD and Washington, D.C. The parkway has carried visitors to and from the capital city since 1954.
- NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL
Captain John Smith Chesapeake
Various States VA,MD,DE,DC,PA,NY
People first arrived in the Chesapeake Bay during the last ice age. As glaciers melted, diverse societies learned to thrive in a world of water. When Englishman Captain John Smith explored the Bay in 1608, he documented hundreds of American Indian communities. Today, sites on his map are archeological treasures and sacred sites for tribal citizens. Come join us on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay!
- PARK
Catoctin Mountain
Thurmont, MD
President Franklin D. Roosevelt created programs to give people a chance to rebuild their lives from the Great Depression. The Works Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corps gave this land a second opportunity and through re-growth, a new role as a recreation area.
- NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
Chesapeake & Ohio Canal
Potomac River, DC,MD,WV
Preserving America's early transportation history, the C&O Canal began as a dream of passage to Western wealth. Operating for nearly 100 years the canal was a lifeline for communities along the Potomac River as coal, lumber, and agricultural products floated down the waterway to market. Today it endures as a pathway for discovering historical, natural, and recreational treasures.
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Chesapeake Bay
Chesapeake Bay Watershed, DC,DE,MD,NY,PA,VA,WV
Over 41 million acres are connected through the waters that flow to and through Chesapeake Bay. The National Park Service strives to connect people to the opportunities and adventures throughout the watershed. Inspiring stewardship across this vast region supports recreation, business, tourism, learning, and a thriving natural resource for all to enjoy.
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Civil War Defenses of Washington
Washington, DC,MD,VA
On forested hills surrounding the nation's capital are the remnants of a complex system of Civil War fortifications. These strategic buttresses transformed the young capital into one of the world's most fortified cities. By 1865, 68 forts and 93 batteries armed with over 800 cannons encircled Washington, DC. Today, you can visit 17 of the original sites now managed by the National Park Service.
- NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Clara Barton
Glen Echo , MD
Clara Barton dedicated her life and energies to help others in times of need - both home and abroad, in peacetime as well as during military emergencies. Glen Echo was her home the last 15 years of her life, and the structure illustrates her dedication and concern for those less fortunate than herself.
- PARK
Fort Foote
Oxon Hill, MD
Fort Foote was constructed in 1863 atop Rozier's Bluff to strengthen the ring of fortifications that encircled Washington, D.C. Two of the Guns that protected Washington are still there along with the remains of the fort's earthworks.
- NATIONAL MONUMENT AND HISTORIC SHRINE
Fort McHenry
Baltimore, MD
by the dawn's early light, a large red, white and blue banner? Whose broad stripes and bright stars... were so gallantly streaming...over Fort McHenry! The valiant defense of the fort during the Battle of Baltimore on September 13-14, 1814 inspired Francis Scott Key to write the words that became the U.S. national anthem. The fort's history holds many other stories too, from the Civil War to WWII.
- PARK
Fort Washington
Fort Washington, MD
Built to defend the river approach to Washington, DC, Fort Washington has stood as silent sentry for over 200 years. As technologies advanced so did Fort Washington, from the brick and stone of the 19th century to the concrete and steel of the 20th century. Joining the National Park Service in 1946, the park continues to protect the Potomac River.
- MEMORIAL PARKWAY
George Washington
DC,MD,VA
The George Washington Memorial Parkway was designed for recreational driving. It links sites that commemorate important episodes in American history and preserve habitat for local wildlife. The parkway and its associated trails provide a scenic place to play and rest in the busy Washington, DC metropolitan area.
- PARK
Glen Echo
Glen Echo, MD
Glen Echo Park began in 1891 as a National Chautauqua Assembly "to promote liberal and practical education." By 1911, it transformed into DC's premier amusement park until it closed in 1968. Since 1971, the National Park Service has owned and operated the site and today, with the help of the Glen Echo Park Partnership for Arts and Culture, offers year-round cultural and recreational activities.
- PARK
Greenbelt
Greenbelt, MD
Enjoy affordable camping, hiking, and peaceful forest surroundings just ten miles from Washington, DC!
- NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Hampton
Towson, MD
Hampton National Historic Site preserves what remains of a once 25,000-acre enslavement plantation. For hundreds of years, enslaved people, indentured servants, tenant farmers, paid laborers, and the Ridgely family all made their own contributions to Hampton, creating a space where cruelty and decadence collide to provide a complex history of the United States.
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Harmony Hall
Prince George's County, MD
The 18th century Harmony Hall mansion is located on a 62.5-acre open pasture land estate along the Potomac River. This estate was purchased by the National Park Service in 1966, to preserve southern Maryland cultural heritage. Surrounded by a rich landscape, it offers visitors many chances to connect with Colonial History. The park also home to the remains of the Want Water House and canal.
- NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry, WV,VA,MD
At the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers, on the ancestral home of the Tuscarora and Shawnee people, lies Harpers Ferry. Here you can explore John Brown's Raid against slavery. Find your connection to the struggle for freedom, education, and civil rights at Storer College. Discover miles of trail in the Blue Ridge and along Civil War battlefields.
- NATIONAL HISTORICAL PARK
Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad
Cambridge, MD
Harriet Tubman was a deeply spiritual woman who lived her ideals and dedicated her life to freedom. She is the Underground Railroad’s best known conductor and before the Civil War repeatedly risked her life to guide 70 enslaved people north to new lives of freedom. This new national historical park preserves the same landscapes that Tubman used to carry herself and others away from slavery.
- NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD
Monocacy
Frederick, MD
During the summer of 1864, the Confederacy carried out a bold plan to turn the tide of the Civil War in their favor. They planned to capture Washington, DC and influence the election of 1864. On July 9, however, Federal soldiers outnumbered three to one, fought gallantly along the banks of the Monocacy River in an effort to buy time for Union reinforcement to arrive in Washington, DC.
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Oxon Cove Park & Oxon Hill Farm
Oxon Hill, MD
The diverse history of Maryland and our national heritage can be experienced at Oxon Cove Park. Through hands-on programs and other activities, you can experience farm life and how its changed over time. Explore how the park evolved from a plantation home during the War of 1812, to a hospital farm, to the park you can visit today.
- PARK
Piscataway
Accokeek., MD
Piscataway Park is home to bald eagles, beavers, deer, foxes, ospreys, and many other species. To complement the surroundings, the park has, in addition to a public fishing pier and two boardwalks over fresh water tidal wetlands, a variety of nature trails, meadows, and woodland areas. The Park is also home to National Colonial Farm.
- NATIONAL SCENIC TRAIL
Potomac Heritage
the corridor between the Chesapeake Bay and the Allegheny Highlands, DC,MD,PA,VA
The Potomac River corridor is rich in both history and recreation, offering a chance to both explore your heritage and choose your adventure along the way. Start your journey here!
- NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL
Star-Spangled Banner
DC,MD,VA
For three years the young United States was embroiled in the War of 1812 and the Chesapeake Bay region felt the brunt of it, choked by shipping blockades and ravaged by enemy raids. Through sites and landscapes in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland, the Trail tells the stories of the events, people, and places that led to the birth of the U.S. national anthem.
- NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Thomas Stone
Port Tobacco, MD
In 1776, Thomas Stone and 55 others signed the Declaration of Independence. In doing so, Stone risked his home, his family's security, and even his life. Stone supported the Declaration of Independence's promise of freedom. Yet he was also an enslaver, holding many people in bondage at Haberdeventure.
- NATIONAL HISTORIC TRAIL
Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route
MA,RI,CT,NY,NJ,PA,DE,MD,VA,DC
In 1781, General Rochambeau’s French Army joined forces with General Washington’s Continental Army to fight the British Army in Yorktown, Virginia. With the French Navy in support, the allied armies moved hundreds of miles to become the largest troop movement of the American Revolution. The effort and cooperation between the two sides led to a victory at Yorktown and secured American independence.
Great for Spotting Wildlife: Assateague Island
7206 National Seashore Ln., Berlin
You can find sandy beaches, hiking trails, and a lighthouse on the barrier island in Maryland and Virginia, but the park is best known for its wild ponies. For a stroll with possible pony sightings, we recommend checking out the 1.6-mile Woodland Trail, where horses can sometimes be seen on the overlook. Distance from DC: 142 miles.
Great for Waterfalls: Great Falls
9200 Old Dominion Dr., McLean
You don’t need to go far to find stunning waterfalls. In McLean, Great Falls cascades over rocks into Mather Gorge. See the waterfall tumbling from three overlooks or hike the 1.5-mile River Trail, a moderate-to-hard path with views of the Potomac River. Swimming and wading are not permitted. Distance from DC: 17 miles.
Great for Road Biking: Prince William Forest
18170 Park Entrance Rd., Triangle
The 15,000-acre park boasts several paved roads for cyclists plus 37 miles of hiking trails. There are paths for different cycling levels: the short and flat Park Scenic Drive runs for three miles while the Park Scenic Drive Loop continues for a total of eight miles with some elevation. Electric bikes are allowed in the park, too. Distance from DC: 32 miles.
Great for Scenic Views: Shenandoah National Park
21073 Skyline Dr., Front Royal
Hikers can explore 500 miles of trails in the picturesque park. For panoramic views of the mountains, take the 2.9-mile Hawksbill Loop trail to Hawksbill Peak, the highest point. Or, for an easier option that also leads to nice views, trek the Stony Man trail, a 1.6-mile loop that looks out on Massanutten Mountain and the verdant valley. Distance from DC: 75 miles.
Great for Hiking Through History: Harpers Ferry
171 Shoreline Dr., Harpers Ferry
Hiking meets history at the merging point of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers. Visit John Brown’s Fort, where abolitionist John Brown’s and anti-slavery raiders barricaded themselves, and then explore 22 miles of trails snake through the park, some on the land of Civil War battlefields. Paths offer everything from quick strolls to steep and rocky climbs. Distance from DC: 67 miles.
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