National News

MLK Day & Juneteenth Axed As Fee-Free At U.S. Parks As Trump Adds His Birthday

Starting in 2026, the National Park Service will no longer offer free admission on Martin Luther King Jr. Day or Juneteenth — two holidays that honor key milestones in Black American history. Instead, the calendar of “resident-only patriotic fee-free days” will include Donald J. Trump’s birthday (Flag Day) and other patriotic observances. The change has sparked widespread criticism, with civil rights organizations arguing that it downplays the significance of MLK Day and Juneteenth and undermines efforts to acknowledge Black history on public lands.
The Guardian
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The Washington Post
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HASHTAGS: #MLKDay #Juneteenth #NationalParks #NPS #CivilRights #PublicLands #BlackHistory #TrumpAdministration #SocialJustice #ParkAccess

By Rosaland Tyler
Associate Editor
New Journal and Guide

The Trump administration has dropped Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from the fee-free days at National Parks for 2026, but added his birthday.

Calendars show the agency will only celebrate former presidents’ birthdays and Flag Day, which is also President Donald Trump’s birthday.

The Guardian wrote in its news announcement of the change, “The new list of free admission days for Americans is the latest example of the Trump administration downplaying America’s civil rights history while also promoting the president’s image, name and legacy.”

The Department of the Interior (DOI) recently announced its “resident-only patriotic fee-free days” for 2026, and missing from the list were MLK Day, which has been a National Park fee-free day since 2018, and Juneteenth, which was introduced as a fee-free day in 2024.

This means the administration is trying to avoid celebrating MLK Day, a federal holiday that celebrates the civil rights leader’s contribution and legacy of promoting equality and justice in the country. It is also trying to avoid celebrating Juneteenth.

“The president didn’t just add his own birthday to the list, he removed both of these holidays that mark Black Americans’ struggle for civil rights and freedom,” said Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democratic US senator of Nevada. “Our country deserves better.”

The move is one of several for NPS under Trump’s executive order designed to “allow more Americans to visit national parks” and also cut back on DEI policies.

Recently, NPS announced an “America-first” initiative that would charge an additional $100 per person to foreign tourists without an annual pass to enter the 11 most-visited national parks starting Jan. 1.

Starting next year, the free days will only apply to U.S. citizens and residents, according to the NPS website.

In 2026, the fee-free days look very different.

The list is now:

Presidents’ Day on February 16, which commemorates the birthdays of former Presidents George Washington and Abraham Lincoln
Memorial Day on May 25
Flag Day on Jun. 14, which is also Trump’s birthday
Independence Day weekend from Jul. 3 to 5
The 110th birthday of the National Park Service on Aug. 25
Constitution Day on Sept. 17
Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday, Oct. 27
Veterans Day, Nov. 11.