Last chance to swerve $100 per person surcharge for top US National Parks

Foreign tourists keen to see some of the most outstanding natural wonders in the US face having to pay hundreds of dollars as a result of “President Donald J Trump’s commitment to making national parks more accessible, more affordable and more efficient for the American people”.

From 1 January 2026 UK visitors aged 16 and over visiting the top tier US National Parks must pay a surcharge of $100 (£74) per person on top of the existing charges.

The option to visit on one of the “fee-free days” also disappears for non-Americans.

For British travellers visiting multiple parks, an annual pass offers a saving compared with paying individually. But the price of the “America the Beautiful” pass is about to more than treble, rising to $250 (£185).

Happily, prospective visitors who act before 1 January 2026 – corresponding to 5am on New Year’s Day GMT – can secure an annual pass at the lower price of $80 (£59).

These are the key questions and answers.

What’s changing?

The US Department of the Interior has announced “More Affordable National Park Access” – at least according to the headline of a media release from Washington DC. It revealed far less affordable national park access for many international visitors.

Starting on 1 January, “non-residents age 16 and older must pay a $100 non-resident fee in addition to the regular entrance fee” for 11 of the top national parks in the US.

These include Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon – as well as my favourites, Bryce Canyon and Zion in Utah. US interior secretary Doug Burgum says the move is to ensure “international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations”.

The surcharge is on top of the usual “per car” fee of around $35 (£26). A British couple visiting one of the most popular parks will face an almost seven-fold rise to $235 (£174).

What’s the work around?

Buy an $80 (£57) “America the Beautiful” annual pass that will get you and travel companions sharing the same car into those 11 parks without the surcharge – and indeed without any further fees at national parks across America.

A spokesperson for the National Park Service confirmed to The Independent: “We honour those passes under the terms at the time of purchase.” Accordingly, I have bought one – and it is valid through to the end of 2026.

What if I miss the deadline?

The way that the pricing structure works means that for any more than a single visit the newly inflated $250 non-resident America the Beautiful pass is the appropriate option. It allows even foreigners into all parks all year for all occupants in one passenger vehicle. This works out cheaper than President Trump’s punitive per-person pricing for overseas visitors.

But costs are being cut for Americans?

The only change that reduces fees for some US citizens is allowing an annual pass to cover two motorcycles, rather than one.

What about ‘free-fee days’?

For many years the US government has nominated eight significant days a year on which admission is free to national parks as well as sites run by the Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service.

In 2026 these become “resident-only patriotic fee-free days”. Two dates important to Black Americans have been dropped from the usual list: Martin Luther King Jr Day, on the third Monday of January; and Juneteenth on 19 June, commemorating the end of slavery in the US.

Replacements include one that partly commemorates President Trump’s birthday. The full list of resident-only patriotic fee-free days for 2026 is:

I have friends/family the US. Can I simply enter with them?

No. I asked: “When a car has a mix of Americans and non-US citizens, how will the surcharge be determined and applied?” The NPS spokesperson said: “Taking Yellowstone as the example, the American resident would pay the $35 resident fee and international visitors would pay $100 per person ages 16 and older. The $80 resident pass cannot transfer to international visitors.”

In addition, sitting quietly in the back of the car is not a workable strategy. US residents “must present a US government-issued photo ID” to avoid the surcharge. So your cunning plan will not work.