It's About to Get More Expensive for Foreign Travelers to Visit National Parks

There are plenty of benefits that can come from visiting one of the many National Parks in the U.S., but one of them is getting a sense of just popular a given park can be. This doesn’t just involve seeing license plates from a host of states in the parking lot; it can also mean encountering international travelers who visited the U.S. to see some of the country’s most striking landscapes. It’s a nice way to get a sense of how broad the appeal of these parks really is.

Unfortunately, a recent announcement suggests that overseas visits to the country’s national parks might suffer as a result of a policy set to go into effect next year. As One Mile at a Time’s Ben Schlappig recently reported, the U.S. Department of the Interior is changing several aspects about accessing national parks in 2026, and one of those changes will involve the cost involved.

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Many of the details in the department’s announcement relate to the cost of annual park passes, which can be used to access national parks and other federal recreation areas. If you bought one for this year, it will cost you $80. That price will remain the same for 2026 — at least, it will if you are a U.S. resident. Nonresidents will pay significantly more for these passes: $250.

This is part of what the Department of the Interior described as “America-first entry fee policies.” In addition to the significantly higher fees for an annual pass for nonresidents, the department also plans to charge nonresidents who have not purchased an annual pass $100 per person to enter the 11 most-visited national parks. If the 2024 data is any indication, that could frustrate foreign travelers looking to see places like Yellowstone, Yosemite and Acadia National Park.

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While it isn’t surprising that the current administration would change admissions policies to benefit existing U.S. residents, it’s possible that this decision could see national parks experience a decline in revenue. The changes in fee structure were not the only alteration coming in 2026; another change to the passes will make it easier for travelers arriving in national parks by motorcycle to visit.