# US national park fees for international visitors: the $100 surcharge explained Non-US residents now pay an extra $100 per person at 11 top national parks, or $250 for an annual pass, often worth it. Plan with Guided's trip planner. Canonical: https://www.go-guided.com/en/posts/us-national-parks-fees-international-visitors Published: 2026-10-19T22:27:00.000Z Author: Sandra Romano Picture a family of four driving into Yellowstone. Both parents and both teenagers are 16 or older, and none of them lives in the USA. The standard entrance fee for their car is $35. Each of them also owes a $100 nonresident surcharge, so they pay $435 at the gate. A US family in the same car would pay $35. That gap is the biggest change to US national park fees for international visitors in years. Non-US residents aged 16 and over now pay an extra $100 per person to enter 11 of the country's best-known national parks. The fee is charged per person, so it adds up fast for families and groups of friends. Children under 16 don't pay it. The same family with two younger kids would owe $235. If your trip includes more than one of these parks, the answer is usually a $250 nonresident annual pass. The rest of this guide sets out the figures so you can check them against your own route. ## Why the US introduced the surcharge Why should a visitor from Toronto pay more than one from Texas? The official answer is money for park maintenance. The Department of the Interior announced the policy in late November 2025. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said international visitors should "contribute their fair share" toward park upkeep. Budget proposals reported at the time suggested the surcharge could raise more than $90 million a year for maintenance. Treat that as a projection, not an audited figure. The US isn't the only country adding new costs at the border. Europe rolled out its own new biometric border check this year, with its own set of fees for visitors. Either way, it's in effect now, so plan your budget around it. ## The 11 parks that charge the $100 surcharge If none of these parks is on your route, most of this guide doesn't apply to you. The surcharge is charged at these 11 national parks and nowhere else. - 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, Montana and Idaho - Yosemite National Park, California - Zion National Park, Utah ```json:object { "_key": "9e5cfdb20474", "_type": "mainImage", "alt": "Sunlight streams through a canyon at Zion National Park, Utah.", "asset": { "_ref": "image-c474bad705210ba7b71ef8538bae9c465f4e672d-1080x864-jpg", "_type": "reference" }, "markDefs": null, "metadata": { "_type": "sanity.imageMetadata", "blurHash": "V~K1q6ofM{kCWB~qofV@oMWBx]j[t7j[f6RjWBt7fQof", "dimensions": { "_type": "sanity.imageDimensions", "aspectRatio": 1.25, "height": 864, "width": 1080 }, "hasAlpha": false, "isOpaque": true, "lqip": "data:image/jpeg;base64,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", "palette": { "_type": "sanity.imagePalette", "darkMuted": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#583f2c", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 6.73, "title": "#fff" }, "darkVibrant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#3a281b", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 5.91, "title": "#fff" }, "dominant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#8c7057", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 7.84, "title": "#fff" }, "lightMuted": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#d2c0a9", "foreground": "#000", "population": 1, "title": "#fff" }, "lightVibrant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#c59469", "foreground": "#000", "population": 0.67, "title": "#fff" }, "muted": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#8c7057", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 7.84, "title": "#fff" }, "vibrant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#cc6c44", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 0, "title": "#fff" } }, "thumbHash": "YAgiFoJneHiPh4eIeHiHeHd4ppZQfAk=" } } ``` Read down the list and it looks a lot like a classic first-timer's itinerary. Zion and Bryce Canyon are both on it, and so are Yellowstone and Grand Teton. A western road trip can easily take in three or more of these parks, and that count decides whether the pass is worth buying. ## What you'll actually pay at the gate So what do these two fees add up to? Two charges stack at these parks. Everyone pays the standard entrance fee, and on top of that every nonresident aged 16 and over pays the extra $100. Yellowstone's own fee page lists its standard fees as follows. - $35 per private vehicle, covering the car and everyone in it for 7 consecutive days - $30 per motorcycle, covering up to 2 motorcycles and 4 passengers - $20 per person arriving on foot, by bike or on skis, for anyone 16 and over ```json:object { "_key": "6402b8274b21", "_type": "mainImage", "alt": "Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, just after sunrise.", "asset": { "_ref": "image-989864ae95c62c2d97c143848df184cfde7de898-1080x720-jpg", "_type": "reference" }, "markDefs": null, "metadata": { "_type": "sanity.imageMetadata", "blurHash": "VH9j}#j[M|afRk.Tj[WBfQaxS%ofjYj[oLM|ofjZj[oL", "dimensions": { "_type": "sanity.imageDimensions", "aspectRatio": 1.5, "height": 720, "width": 1080 }, "hasAlpha": false, "isOpaque": true, "lqip": "data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAANABQDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAGAAAAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYDBAf/xAAkEAACAgEDAgcAAAAAAAAAAAABAgADBQQRIRITIjEyQVGCkf/EABYBAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAECA//EABgRAAMBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMT/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwBOx+e0TVsLKSHA4A95ZbN413ZXrZUA9W3mZm+jzd3iHZp4HxJzlLtw/RVseNumS9qM1nI5W5LDs5PcYfWESH1jFiSifkI96Dkj/9k=", "palette": { "_type": "sanity.imagePalette", "darkMuted": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#575038", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 4.39, "title": "#fff" }, "darkVibrant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#5c5c24", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 0, "title": "#fff" }, "dominant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#575038", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 4.39, "title": "#fff" }, "lightMuted": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#b6a896", "foreground": "#000", "population": 1.95, "title": "#fff" }, "lightVibrant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#ddbe9b", "foreground": "#000", "population": 0, "title": "#fff" }, "muted": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#69808c", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 3.83, "title": "#fff" }, "vibrant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#7e562a", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 0.01, "title": "#fff" } }, "thumbHash": "E+gJFYJnd3iPh3eHh3h4dHiAhgZI" } } ``` Most of the other parks on the list also charge $35 per vehicle. Each park sets its own fees, so check its fee page before you go. For an international visitor, the $35 matters much less than the $100. The annual passes are priced as follows. - **Nonresident annual pass.** $250 a year, in effect since 1 January 2026. - **America the Beautiful annual pass.** $80 a year, unchanged, for US citizens and residents. The nonresident pass covers the entire vehicle, or 2 motorcycles. At parks that charge per person, it covers the passholder plus 3 more adults. Anyone who enters on an annual pass doesn't pay the $100 surcharge, and that's the main reason to buy one. Annual passes bought before 1 January 2026 remain valid for 12 months from the purchase date under their original terms, and that includes cover for the nonresident fee. All of those older passes will expire by the end of 2026. ## When does the $250 annual pass pay for itself? Sooner than most people expect. Here is the break-even point for each group size, counting the surcharge alone. ### On your own Each visit to one of the 11 parks costs a solo traveler $100 in surcharge. Two visits come to $200 and three come to $300, so on surcharges alone the pass pays for itself at your third park. If you're driving, add the vehicle fee at each stop. Most of these parks charge around $35 per vehicle, which nudges a solo traveler's break-even point a little earlier than the third park, not later. ### As a couple One park costs two adults $200 in surcharges, which is under the pass price. A second park takes the total to $400. The break-even point falls between the first park and the second. A couple visiting two or more of the 11 parks should buy the pass. ### Three or more adults For larger groups, the pass is clearly the better deal. Three adults visiting one of the 11 parks once owe $300 in surcharges, which is $50 more than the pass. For a group of three or more, the pass pays for itself at the first gate. It also covers the whole vehicle, so a car full of adult friends should simply buy it. > Guided tip: Do the sums using your actual route, and count only the 11 surcharge parks. Visits to other national parks add nothing to your surcharge total, so they don't move your break-even point. ## Fee-free days no longer apply to international visitors The National Park Service still runs fee-free days. As of 2026, though, they don't help non-residents at all. On those dates, international visitors pay the full entrance fee plus the extra $100, the same as on any other day. The calendar itself also changed for 2026. MLK Day and Juneteenth were dropped, and Flag Day and Constitution Day were added. The dates are now branded "Patriotic Fee-Free Days." ### The 2026 fee-free days - Presidents Day, 16 February - Memorial Day, 25 May - Flag Day, 14 June - Independence Day weekend, 3 to 5 July - National Park Service 110th birthday, 25 August - Constitution Day, 17 September - Theodore Roosevelt's birthday, 27 October - Veterans Day, 11 November ```json:object { "_key": "680906fd8d96", "_type": "mainImage", "alt": "Visitors at a crowded viewpoint admiring Half Dome in Yosemite National Park.", "asset": { "_ref": "image-f74638a43b725a9e4020a681840a1a9081074381-1080x720-jpg", "_type": "reference" }, "markDefs": null, "metadata": { "_type": "sanity.imageMetadata", "blurHash": "VnEg5in#RPWAV@cbM_jYjZaetma$a#j[ofM|t7ofWXj]", "dimensions": { "_type": "sanity.imageDimensions", "aspectRatio": 1.5, "height": 720, "width": 1080 }, "hasAlpha": false, "isOpaque": true, "lqip": "data:image/jpeg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAANABQDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAGAAAAwEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQGBQf/xAAiEAACAgMAAQQDAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEAAURBgcSEyEiQXH/xAAWAQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAQP/xAAbEQACAgMBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgAEAwURMf/aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8AX8W29aOGabY05gjn3h0X8eZvUvMtCQPlgmj6xC/zF6VWGts3qBWepHCCsTN1fvJ/e6jX2HmEdcwN3vY3IyrsMqLxz2Hajj9AlLY9QtDFKUWrMwH7+sM5KNeoZwJH4GIHcMYLhImJqCf/2Q==", "palette": { "_type": "sanity.imagePalette", "darkMuted": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#4d5326", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 6.72, "title": "#fff" }, "darkVibrant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#3f4a0a", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 0.38, "title": "#fff" }, "dominant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#c6d0d6", "foreground": "#000", "population": 7.61, "title": "#000" }, "lightMuted": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#c6d0d6", "foreground": "#000", "population": 7.61, "title": "#000" }, "lightVibrant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#7cb4ec", "foreground": "#000", "population": 0, "title": "#fff" }, "muted": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#6b7e8c", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 3.07, "title": "#fff" }, "vibrant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#458cd4", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 0.01, "title": "#fff" } }, "thumbHash": "n9cJNYhHZpg/eHeNhzmKdIpwlQhn" } } ``` If you're not a US resident, avoid these dates. You save nothing, and free entry gives residents a reason to choose the same day you do. ## Cheaper ways to see the parks For most itineraries, the cheapest option is the $250 pass itself. Buy it if you're visiting more than one or two of the 11 parks, or if three or more adults are traveling together. The break-even section above shows where your own trip lands. The other option is to change your route. The surcharge is charged only at these 11 parks, and plenty of other national parks aren't on that list. You'll still pay whatever entrance fee those parks charge, but not the extra $100 per person. If you're on a tight budget and your list includes a single surcharge park, replace it with a park that isn't on the list. Leaving out one surcharge park saves a group of four adults $400. Not every country's new entry rule works the same way. Thailand went the opposite direction in 2026, with a visa exemption, not a surcharge for many nationalities. ```json:object { "_key": "df0325249051", "_type": "mainImage", "alt": "A view of the Great Smoky Mountains from Foothills Parkway, a national park outside the surcharge list.", "asset": { "_ref": "image-44a6acaf21f3e73b705ed72d78b2a9e7e297f70b-1080x720-jpg", "_type": "reference" }, "markDefs": null, "metadata": { "_type": "sanity.imageMetadata", "blurHash": "VgDmN:RjD%RjV[_NRjIURjWB-pRjRjayWBjYWBj[ofaz", "dimensions": { "_type": "sanity.imageDimensions", "aspectRatio": 1.5, "height": 720, "width": 1080 }, "hasAlpha": false, "isOpaque": true, "lqip": "data:image/jpeg;base64,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", "palette": { "_type": "sanity.imagePalette", "darkMuted": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#274249", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 6.05, "title": "#fff" }, "darkVibrant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#3f4c21", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 7.23, "title": "#fff" }, "dominant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#bcc4c4", "foreground": "#000", "population": 7.48, "title": "#fff" }, "lightMuted": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#bcc4c4", "foreground": "#000", "population": 7.48, "title": "#fff" }, "lightVibrant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#d2ece9", "foreground": "#000", "population": 0.03, "title": "#000" }, "muted": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#667f75", "foreground": "#fff", "population": 3.17, "title": "#fff" }, "vibrant": { "_type": "sanity.imagePaletteSwatch", "background": "#93b14d", "foreground": "#000", "population": 0, "title": "#fff" } }, "thumbHash": "F+gRFYJGd4dvdodpd3eHhoeQnJj4" } } ``` ## How do rangers know where you live? They check. Rangers check ID at the entrance stations of these parks. To get the resident rate, you need one of the following. - A US passport - A US state or territory driver's license or ID card - A green card Anyone who can't show one of these pays as a nonresident. Keep your passport somewhere you can reach it from the driver's seat, not packed in a bag. ID checks like this are becoming more common well beyond US park gates. South Korea, for one, revived its own entry-authorization requirement for many nationalities this year, long before anyone reaches a gate. > Guided tip: Sort out your bookings on Recreation.gov before you arrive. That can save time at the gate while rangers check residency, especially at busy entrance stations. ## Planning the rest of your USA trip Add the surcharge to your budget early, decide on the pass using the numbers above, and then get on with planning. Our USA destination guide gives you the wider picture of the country, and Guided's trip planner can help you map out the rest of the route around the parks you choose, including the drives between them and where you'll sleep each night. ## Enjoyed This Blog? Continue Reading![horizontalScroll: non-text section]