WA’s national parks are free on Monday

SEATTLE – August’s arrival may summon the sorrowful specter of summer’s end. But for some, it’s an invitation to soak up the season as much as possible before September’s showers.

Hopeful outdoor explorers will get an extra incentive to hit the trail on Monday, when the U.S. National Park Service waives admission fees at its more than 400 parks, including Washington’s big three: Mount Rainier, Olympic and North Cascades national parks.

Admission will also be free on Monday at Washington’s 12 other National Park Service locations, including historical parks, sites, trails and a reserve.

The free entrance day celebrates the fifth anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act, a federal bill signed into law on Aug. 4, 2020, which helped fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and pay for maintenance on public lands.

Monday’s waiver only applies to entrance fees at parks, and doesn’t cover other fees for things like timed entry reservations, according to the National Park Service. Timed entry reservations, which cost $2, are required to drive into Mount Rainier National Park via the Sunrise Corridor between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Busy on Monday? Don’t worry. The parks service is offering two more free entrance days this year: on Sept. 27, in celebration of National Public Lands Day, and Nov. 11, for Veterans Day.