One of the most rewarding ways to plan a trip is by building it around a specific event connected to a deep interest or passion. Taking part in something meaningful on your travels creates a unique connection with a destination that can lead to memories that will last a lifetime. Whether it’s testing your athletic derring-do in an ultra-marathon in Peru or whipping out your spray cans at a graffiti festival in Bristol, we’ve rounded up some of the most exciting events for you to participate in for 2024.
How To Visit The National Parks For Free In 2024
06.12.2023 - 19:39 / forbes.com / Bryce Canyon
New Year, new national park to check off your must-visit list? Mark your calendars: The park system just announced a half dozen “free days” for 2024 that are spread throughout the year, beginning with Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 15, 2024.
The national parks hold many treasures, from a skull-shaped rock, cactus garden, and Seuss-like yuccas in California’s Joshua Tree to Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the eastern seaboard in Maine’s Acadia National Park. In between the coastal states are hoodoos in Utah’s Bryce Canyon, ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings in Colorado’s Mesa Verde, and unusual subterranean rock formations that mimic Gothic architecture in Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave.
Really, there’s countless things to see and endless adventures to embark on in the 63 national parks. But the park system actually covers 425 sites, spanning across 85 million acres. In addition to parks in the continental U.S., there are sites outside of the continental U.S. — like the Virgin Islands National Park. Did you know that two thirds of St. John in the Virgin Islands is considered national park territory, with coral reefs visitors can snorkel to and Taino's ancient petroglyphs to see?
There’s so many sites to visit and endless adventures to embark on in the U.S. National Parks, and, if you’re not a National Parks passholder, these free days can help you tick off some of the must-sees from your own personalized bucket list.
The national parks’ fee-free days are a great opportunity to visit one of the sites that normally charges an entrance fee. You can see all of the participating parks and sites here, organized by location. But actually most national park sites are free to enter year-round. Only about 100 of the more than 400 national parks and sites have an entrance fee.
Entrance fees to national parks typically range from $5 to $35 and are charged either per person or per vehicle. The free fee days cover entrance to parks, but don’t include costs for other services or activities like renting campsites, special tours (many are free, though) or boat launches.
The first free day of 2024 falls on Martin Luther King Day in the middle of January, which prompts the question: Which national parks are best to visit in the winter?
If you lean into the cold weather, the snow adds an extra element of beauty at places like Arches National Park or the Grand Tetons. Those who are willing to brave the cold can go cross-country skiing past geysers in Yellowstone, sledding at the hill in Hidden Valley at Rocky Mountain National Park, or snowshoeing in Sequoia and King’s Canyon National Park.
But if you’re looking to escape the cold, Dry Tortugas west of Key West or Virgin Islands National Park are calling.
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nationalgeographic.com
18.12.2023 / 22:23
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Yosemite National Park to Require Reservations in 2024
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06.12.2023 / 21:19
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forbes.com
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