The Latest National Park Executive Order Is Going to Make Park Fees More Expensive for Some Tourists—What to Know

Travel + Leisure

2 days ago

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on July 3, that will change entry fees, reservation systems, and funding models for the national park system. The new changes will primarily affect international visitors, but there could be implications for all future guests.
'It is the policy of my Administration to preserve these opportunities for American families in future generations by increasing entry fees for foreign tourists, improving affordability for United States residents, and expanding opportunities to enjoy America's splendid national treasures,' the first section of the executive order states.
This latest development comes after the Trump administration has already made major changes to the National Parks Service (NPS), including cutting 1,000 employees from the agency in February 2025. The National Parks Conservation Association reports that the parks have lost about 24 percent of its permanent staff, and is about 8,000 employees short for seasonal hiring.
With other proposals to cut funding for the agency in 2026 recently considered, the latest executive order suggests major shakeups are still to come. Here's what we know so far.
The executive order does not state the exact increase in fees for international tourists or how those entry fee rules will be enforced. Entry fees to national parks vary for each location, according to the NPS database. 'The Secretary of the Interior shall develop a strategy to increase revenue and improve the recreational experience at national parks by appropriately increasing entrance fees and recreation pass fees for nonresidents in areas of the National Park System that charge entrance fees or recreation pass fees,' the executive order states.
The executive order also said the price of the America the Beautiful Pass and 'any site-specific or regional multi-entity passes' will be increased for international travelers. The stated goal of these price hikes is to increase revenue for the parks system to assist in conservation, preservation, and infrastructure investments in the park.
There is not a clear timeline for when the price increase will become effective or how it will be enforced. Some national parks do not have any entry fee at all. Right now, the executive order can be understood as an official set of directions for Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum.
International travelers can interpret the executive order as future change to anticipate instead of an immediate price to account for.
The order also directs Burgum to review access to national parks, including to 'take steps to rescind any that unnecessarily restrict recreation in national parks,' and to 'grant American residents preferential treatment with respect to any remaining recreational access rules, including permitting or lottery rules.'
The exact implementation of this component remains to be seen, but it can be interpreted as a move towards removing some reservation systems that popular and busy parks require. For national parks that keep a reservation system in place after this proposed overhaul, American residents will receive priority.
In just a single line in the executive order, President Trump revoked the President Memorandum of 2017, called Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in Our National Parks, National Forests, and Other Public Lands and Waters. This means the DEI efforts at the parks will no longer be prioritized (and possibly funded) by the Secretary of Interior and, thus, the NPS.
When asked for clarification about timelines and potential increases, the National Parks Service directed Travel + Leisure to Secretary Burgum's tweet about the executive order.