April each year the National Park Service teams up with the National Park Foundation to celebrate National Park Week. The National Park Foundation is the official charitable partner of the park service focused on raising private funds to support America’s parks.
Through out the year there are a number of free admission days to the parks. The first one this year was Jan. 18th for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The next one is April 17th on the first day of 2021 National Park Week celebration.
- January 18th – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- April 17th – First Day of National Parks Week
- August 4th – Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
- August 25th – National Park Service Birthday
- September 25th – National Public Lands Day
- November 11th – Veterans Day
National Park Week Themes
Each day of the 2021 National Park week has its own theme and the final day of the week, April 25th is BARK Ranger Day. While National Parks have traditionally not been welcoming to our furry friends, some parks are making accommodations for those of us that travel with our pets. These accommodations include having some trails open for pets so that they can also enjoy some parts of the parks without impacting the native wildlife that the park is meant to conserve. Other parks have very few restrictions on where leashed pets can go, I call these 4-paw parks.
4-paw Park Posts on the Blog
Great Dane versus Mouse
Martok on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon
Dog Friendly Alternative on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is Kaibab National Forest
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
2021 National Park Week
Road trip 2019
Pet Friendly Yuma, Gallup not so much
Arches and Canyonlands National Parks
The Toadstools
Lower Calf Creek Falls in Grand Staircase-Escalante
Devil's Garden Grand Staircase-Escalante
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Redwood National Park
Petrified Forest National Park
Don’t assume that BARK Ranger parks are pet friendly, some are not. Be sure to check the pet policy for each park and be aware that the policies do change from time to time.
