Visit a National Park for Free on January 20

Montezuma Castle National Monument | Courtesy of National Park Service

If you aren’t working on Monday, January 20, why not visit one of America’s 401 national parks, monuments and recreation areas? And here’s a bonus: There are no entrance fees at the parks that day in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Only 133 national parks normally charge entrance fees. The Arizona parks on that list are:

• Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
• Chiricahua National Monument
• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
• Grand Canyon National Park
• Lake Mead National Recreation Area
• Montezuma Castle National Monument
• Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
• Petrified Forest National Park
• Pipe Spring National Monument
• Saguaro National Park
• Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
• Tonto National Monument
• Tumacacori National Historical Park
• Tuzigoot National Monument
• Walnut Canyon National Monument
• Wupatki National Monument

So, enjoy free entry at those parks next Monday! If you’d like to stop worrying about entrance fees altogether, the National Park Service offers an $80 annual pass that covers all national parks. It’s a must for anyone making more than a few visits to our nation’s parks every year.

Other fee-free days in 2014: February 15-17 (Presidents Day weekend), April 19-20 (opening weekend of National Park Week), August 25 (the National Park Service’s birthday), September 27 (National Public Lands Day) and November 11 (Veterans Day). For more information, click here.