Enjoy Free Admission to California’s National Parks and Forests This Veterans Day Weekend

In honor of Veterans Day, the National Park Service is waiving entrance fees for all national parks this Veterans Day weekend (November 9-11, 2013). This will be the last fee-free weekend of 2013, so get out there and enjoy your national parks! Campground reservation fees still apply, of course, but this is still a great deal  — particularly if you are planning to make a day trip to your favorite local national park. California is blessed with a wide variety of national parks throughout the state, and most Californians live within a few hours’ drive of one or more national parks.

Here’s a list of California national parks that are fee-free this weekend:

Cabrillo National Monument (Normally $5.00 per vehicle for seven days)
Death Valley National Park (Normally $20.00 per vehicle for seven days)
Joshua Tree National Park (Normally $15.00 per vehicle for seven days)
Lassen Volcanic National Park (Normally $10.00 per vehicle for seven days)
Lava Beds National Monument (Normally $10.00 per vehicle for seven days)
Muir Woods National Monument (Normally $7.00 for adults and free for children 15 years of age and under)
Pinnacles National Park (Normally $5.00 per vehicle for seven days)
Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks (Normally $20.00 per vehicle for seven days)
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area (Normally $5.00 per vehicle for one day or $10.00 per vehicle for seven days)
Yosemite National Park (Normally $20.00 per vehicle for seven days)

NOTE: Parks not listed above, such as Channel Islands National Park, Mojave National Preserve, and Point Reyes National Seashore don’t normally charge an admission fee. The National Park Service has a complete  listing of all 26 National Park Service units in California that includes a handy interactive map to facilitate planning your visit.

If you’re planning to visit a national park outside of California, there’s also a complete listing of participating national parks available.

It’s also worth noting that Giant Sequoia National Monument (administered by the US Forest Service) and Carrizo Plain National Monument (administered by the Bureau of Land Management) don’t charge entrance fees, either.

Finally, as an added bonus California’s National Forests are participating in the fee-free weekend, too. In southern and central California, this means that the  Adventure Pass won’t be needed in most areas of the Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres, and San Bernardino National Forests. There are a few exceptions — you’ll still need the Adventure Pass at the Lower Santa Ynez Recreation Area in Los Padres National Forest, for example.