National Park Service waives entrance fees on October 27

Visitors can access participating federal park sites without paying admission fees for one day, aligning with a recurring annual tradition.

• •The National Park Service is waiving entrance fees across all parks with gate fees on October 27.
• •The fee-free day honors the birthday of President Theodore Roosevelt.
• •Theodore Roosevelt doubled the size of the national park system during his time in office.
• •Roosevelt signed five new national parks into law, including Crater Lake, Wind Cave, Sullys Hill, Mesa Verde, and Platt.
• •Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act of 1906, creating a legal tool used by presidents to designate national monuments without an act of Congress.
• •Roosevelt proclaimed roughly 20 national monuments, such as the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Montezuma Castle, and Devils Tower.
• •Roosevelt set aside approximately 150 national forests during his presidency.
• •The national park system currently faces a deferred maintenance backlog estimated at roughly $24 billion.
• •A federal judge recently ordered the Trump administration to restore exhibits removed from National Park sites.
• •Sites carrying Theodore Roosevelt's name within the NPS include his birthplace in New York City, Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, and Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, D.C.