If you love the objectively exceptional natural beauty of the United States and you’re among the tens of thousands of Canadians who travel there every week, the Trump administration has bad news for you (and for all other international travelers). The price of the annual pass giving access to all US national parks will more than triple, a 213% increase!
However, there’s a simple tip to delay this increase a bit longer! This increase will be implemented as part of the famous “America First” approach of the 45th and 47th President (an approach which is pretty polarizing; that’s the least we can say).
His administration describes this as “the most significant modernization of national park access in decades.” Several other changes have been announced, including a pass design featuring Trump himself, fee-free parks on his birthday, and a few others (including positive improvements, even).
Here are the details of the price increase for the US national parks pass in 2026 and the few other related announcements.
What is the US national parks pass?
The US national parks pass, officially called the “America the Beautiful” pass, is a pass that gives unlimited access to all 63 national parks and even to 2000 other federal sites (national historic sites, national forests, and many others).
The current price is 80 USD for validity of at least 12 months, whether for Americans or international travelers.
The pass is valid for:
- 1 full vehicle when access is per vehicle
- Up to 4 adults* in a vehicle when access is per person
*The definition of an Adult is 16 and over; everything is always free for those under 16
So it’s obviously an excellent deal for access to sublime national parks in the vast country.
A country that, let’s remember, has more land area than Canada (so excluding water area). That’s a fairly unknown fact.
What is the price increase for the US national parks pass?
The price increase for the pass will be 213% (an increase of 170 USD), so a new price of 250 USD. This is only for international travelers. The price for Americans isn’t changing.
It’s a pretty high increase, even though at 250 USD per person for a year, it’s still not that expensive for those who will visit several parks.
The pass will also clearly remain the cheapest option for those visiting some of the most popular national parks, because the pass price increase isn’t the only increase announced!
A new surcharge of 100 USD per person will be imposed on international travelers who don’t have the annual pass in 11 national parks.
Here’s the list of the 11 affected national parks:
- Acadia National Park (Maine)
- Bryce Canyon National Park (Utah)
- Everglades National Park (Florida)
- Glacier National Park (Montana)
- Grand Canyon National Park (Arizona)
- Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming)
- Rocky Mountain National Park (Colorado)
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks (California)
- Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming)
- Yosemite National Park (California)
- Zion National Park (Utah)
It honestly doesn’t seem to be something the administration would back down on, but we’ll update this guide if there are modifications; sign up for our free newsletter to receive that and all our travel deals, tips, and content.
Is the price increase for the US national parks pass out of the ordinary?
It must be said that the United States will certainly not be the 1st country to charge foreigners more for site access. It’s extremely common.
It’s less common for it to increase this much, though. And it’s less common for it to increase in the middle of a tariff crisis or trade war (or whatever you want to call it).
The new policy is received very differently, even though plenty of countries operate similarly, especially because of 2 things:
- The fact that people are incredibly intolerant of any change
- See everyone’s reaction to all airline fees
- I actually talked about this in interviews in many media outlets this week (in print, on TV, and on the radio)
- The fact that Trump’s “America First” approach was cited to explain this change
- See everyone’s reaction to everything Trump has been doing for 1 year
- I actually don’t think it’s unreasonable to give your own citizens discounts on national park access
Why is there a price increase for the US national parks pass?
What any politician says should always be taken with a huge boulder of salt, but it’s even more true with the current US administration, obviously.
The Secretary of the Interior (their equivalent of the Interior Minister) justified the increase in a press release published on November 25.
It’s so that “international visitors contribute their fair share to help preserve and maintain these treasured places.”
But there’s also an explicit notion of “putting American families first.” He repeats it by saying that “President Trump’s leadership always puts American families first.” It’s clear!
The administration specifies that “revenues generated by the new pricing policies will be reinvested directly into America’s national parks, to support improvements to visitor facilities, essential maintenance, and enhanced services across the country.”
That said, they also say in the press release title that they’re announcing “more affordable national park access” when their price isn’t going down.
Well, 80 USD in 2026 is obviously more affordable than 80 USD in 2025 with all the classic inflationary government spending, but that’s not usually the definition of making something more affordable.
When will the price increase for the US national parks pass take effect?
The price increase for the US national parks pass will take effect on January 1, 2026. But there’s a simple tip to push back this increase by 1 year if you want: by buying a pass in December 2025.
Indeed, the national park pass is valid for a full 12 months. A little more than 12 months, even: it’s valid until the end of the same month the following year.
So if you buy it on December 1, 2025, you’ll get it at the current price of 80 USD, and you’ll be able to use it for all of 2026 because it’s valid until the end of December 2026 (13 months in total).
You can buy it online as a digital pass.
What are the 3 other announced changes to the US national parks pass?
There are 3 other changes concerning the US national parks pass, outside of the price increase. But to be clear, nothing changes in terms of using a pass for a full vehicle or anything like that.
Here are the 3 other announced changes:
- Improvement for motorcyclists
- Improvement to the process and logistics
ImprovementChange to the pass design
The first is objectively a clear improvement for everyone: a pass will now cover 2 motorcycles rather than just 1. Travelers on 2 wheels will appreciate it!
If a pass covers 4 adults in the same vehicle, it’s logical that it also covers 2 motorcycles. It’s not because it’s Trump that it’s automatically bad, as with the end of the absurd shoe-removal rule at the airport security.
The second is also an improvement: the digital version of the pass will be enhanced and modernized. Older travelers can be reassured: they won’t be forced to use the digital version, unlike on Ryanair flights.
The pass will be available to be loaded into digital wallets. There will be better staff training and additional equipment to scan digital passes and speed up site entry. All positive there too.
The third is the series of “more patriotic” visual pass designs: one includes this montage of President Donald Trump’s image and the 1st president, George Washington. It’s partly to celebrate the US’s 250th anniversary, which will be a big deal next year.
It will certainly please many. But that aspect is too subjective to be classified as an improvement or not… so let’s just call it a change! 😅
What are the other announced changes regarding US national parks?
The announcement also includes the addition of 5 extra fee-free park days (there will now be 10 in total). But it’s for Americans only.
The new list includes Trump’s birthday, which is explicitly noted as “Flag Day/President Trump’s birthday.”
This detail goes over just barely better than his big military parade on his last birthday, which led to the 1st major “No Kings Day” protest across the country (and even here in Canada… where, ironically, many love funding an actual king).
I was actually in Washington to attend the long-awaited return of the Vans Warped Tour that day (the iconic festival is finally coming back to Canada in 2026, but that wasn’t an option in 2025), and it was special to see the parade set up the day before.
My friend had never been to Washington, so since we were there anyway, I took him to see the White House from the outside and the National Mall. And throughout the festival the next day, military helicopters were flying over our heads. I can’t imagine how patriotic the 250th anniversary will be.
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Summary
The price increase for the US national parks pass in 2026 is pretty significant. Savvy international travelers who want to visit these destinations should certainly take advantage of the tip of buying a pass at the current price in December 2025 to lock in a full year of access at the current much lower price.
What would you like to know about the price increase for the US national parks pass? Tell us in the comments below.
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Featured image: Zion and Sleeping Bear Dunes parks (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons and Wikimedia Commons)
