Here Are The Five Fee Free Days For Michigan National Parks in 2023
Michigan is home to one national park, two national lakeshores, one national historic park, part of a national scenic trail, one national heritage area, and one national battlefield park. While some of these sites are free to visit year-round, others charge a daily admission feee. Each year the National Park Service announces a handful of “fee free” days that allow visitors to come and enjoy these parks without paying an entrance fee.
For those of us here in Michigan, the parks affected by these fee free days are Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula and Sleeping Bear Dune National Lakeshore on Lake Michigan. Here is a list of the five fee free days for 2023, these are great days to check out our beautiful parks for the first time if you’ve never been!
January 16 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
April 22 – First Day of National Park Week
August 4 – Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
September 23 – National Public Lands Day
November 11 – Veterans Day
Fees for camping, boat launches, tours, or transportation are still charged on these days. There is currently no entrance fee charged for the North Country Scenic Trail, River Raisin National Battlefield Park, and the Keweenaw National Historic Park (other than some select sites/tours). Many of the MotorCities National Heritage Area sites may require a private admission fee to visit, while others remain open to the public free of charge all year. Isle Royale National Park is closed from November to mid-April, and requires a voyage by seaplane or ferry to visit.
The current entrance fees for Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore are $25 for a seven-day vehicle pass/$20 for motorcycle, $45 for an annual pass, or $15 per person for walk-in or bicycle-in visits. After a successful first year of charging entrance fees at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, those fees increase on January 1 to $20 for a seven-day vehicle entrance pass/$15 for motorcycle, $30 for an annual pass, and $10 per person for walk-in, snowmobile, or boat-in passes. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore annual passes purchased online in December 2022 at the current price ($20) will cover you until December 2023, so maybe consider that as a last-minute stocking stuffer!
