National Parks Free Entry: Veterans Day Weekend

Find an historic site or monument related to military history, or visit a nearby park, over the second weekend in November.

"HONORING AMERICA'S VETERANS": When you learn that there's a free weekend ahead, admission-wise, at our national parks, and you discover the dates are Saturday, Nov. 11 and Sunday, Nov. 12, you may ponder where you can go within the National Park Service to pay tribute to those who served. The NPS can help out with that, thanks to a detailed page devoted to the "...dozens of battlefields, military parks, and historic sites that commemorate and honor the service of American veterans." A number of those locations are in California, if you plan to stay within in the state over Veterans Day 2017, so consider calling upon Cabrillo National Monument, Rosie the Riveter WWI Home Front National Historic Park, Fort Point National Historic Site, or Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial over the second weekend in November.

OTHER PARKS... that typically charge a fee at the gate, such as Yosemite National Park and Joshua Tree National Park, always have a number of happenings on their weekend schedules, including the popular ranger-led talks and walks. If finding some stillness among the trees, canyons, or paths of a favorite park feels like how you want to spend Veterans Day Weekend, take a look at all of the parks, monuments, and historic sites that are nearby (there are many). Do note that the Nov. 11 and 12 National Park Service Fee-Free Days are the final no-admission dates on the 2017 National Park Service calendar. For more information on finding a history-focused NPS site, click. And to learn more about the history of the NPS and the Vets on the River Program, start here.

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