Here Are The Six Free Entrance Days For Michigan National Parks in 2024
Michigan is home to two national parks (Isle Royale and the North Country Trail), two national lakeshores, one national historic park, 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 fee. 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 free entrance 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 six fee free days for 2024, these are great days to check out our beautiful parks for the first time if you’ve never been! Keep in mind that not all national parks are open for all of the affected dates. Last year saw only five fee free days, so you have one extra chance this year to get out and do some exploring!
The 2024 Free Entrance Days Are:
January 15 – Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
April 20 – First day of National Park Week
June 19 – Juneteenth National Independence Day
August 4 – Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
September 28 – 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 National 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. Entrance fees at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore are $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.
