type: timeline_event
The Interior Department announced on November 25, 2025, that the National Park Service would remove Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from its 2026 calendar of fee-free entry days, while adding President Trump's birthday (June 14, which coincides with Flag Day) to the list of "resident-only patriotic fee-free days." The changes became public on December 6, 2025, sparking immediate condemnation from civil rights organizations and Democratic lawmakers.
MLK Day had been a fee-free day at national parks since 2018 and had been observed for more than a decade, while Juneteenth was added as a fee-free day in 2024 under the Biden administration. The removal of these two holidays honoring Black history and civil rights represents the only fee-free days tied to African American heritage in the National Park System. In their place, the administration added Trump's birthday alongside other changes including Constitution Day (September 17), Theodore Roosevelt's birthday (October 27), and the 110th birthday of the National Park Service (August 25).
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum justified the changes by stating: "President Trump's leadership always puts American families first. These policies ensure that U.S. taxpayers...continue to enjoy affordable access," framing the new dates as "patriotic fee-free days." The policy applies to all national parks, with the changes affecting the 11 most popular parks including Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Acadia, Everglades, and Sequoia and Kings Canyon.
NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson condemned the action, stating: "Removing MLK Day and Juneteenth from the national parks calendar is more than petty politics—it's an attack on the truth of this nation's history. It's an attempt to erase the legacy of Dr. King, minimize the story of emancipation, and sideline the communities that have fought for generations to make America live up to its promise." The NAACP characterized the move as part of repeated Trump administration efforts to suppress Black history education in schools and reverse civil rights protections.
Other civil rights leaders voiced similar concerns. Cornell William Brooks, former NAACP president and Harvard Kennedy School professor, wrote: "The raw and rank racism here stinks to high heaven." Tyrhee Moore, executive director of Soul Trak Outdoors, stated: "Removing free-entry days on MLK Day and Juneteenth sends a troubling message about who our national parks are for. These holidays hold profound cultural and historical significance for Black communities, and eliminating them as access points feels like a direct targeting of the very groups who already face systemic barriers to the outdoors." Olivia Juarez of GreenLatinos condemned "the omission of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, Juneteenth, National Public Lands Day, and the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act as Free Entrance Days."
Senator Angus King criticized the changes as "whitewashing" history, comparing the administration's approach to Germany's requirement that young people learn about dark historical periods: "The administration is trying to rewrite history...we should take a lesson from that." The policy change occurred alongside other Interior Department actions to remove slavery-related materials from park exhibits and reinstate Confederate monuments.
The announcement was part of broader changes to national park access policies, including new "America-first pricing" that imposes a $100 surcharge on non-U.S. residents aged 16 and older visiting the 11 most popular parks, in addition to standard entrance fees. Annual passes for non-residents increased from $80 to $250 starting January 1, 2026. Notably, the fee-free days do not apply to non-U.S. residents under the new policy.