The next couple of months are prime season for park visits, and with a little planning you might not even pay an admission fee.
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Go on the free days. The remaining free-entrance days at all National Park Service properties are Sept. 17, Oct. 27 and Nov. 11. The free part applies only to admission; you still have to pay for camping, tours and timed-entry reservation fees.
Get a pass from your library. Most public libraries in California have free day-use passes for state parks, good for three weeks. You’ll need a library card to check one out. Some libraries have free passes for county parks, too; in the Bay Area, these include Santa Clara County and San Mateo County.
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Volunteer on National Public Lands Day. On and around Sept. 26, parks across the country will be having work days where volunteers plant, pull invasive species, collect pine cones, deck-floss (yes!). Golden Gate National Recreation Area is having four days of events including on Alcatraz Island and at Muir Woods and Presidio Tunnel Tops. Find and sign up for an event at the website of the National Environmental Education Foundation.
Be a fourth-grader. Both national parks and California’s have a program under which fourth-graders can get a free pass good for the whole year; each pass holder can bring in other children and up to three adults. The 2025-’26 pass is good through Monday, Aug. 31. New fourth-graders can apply for the upcoming year at Every Kid Outdoors and ReserveCalifornia’s Free Fourth Grade Pass form.
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