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National Parks to raise fees for millions of international tourists to popular US parks
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FILE - Visitors watch a sunset on rock ledge near Taft Point in Yosemite National Park, Calif., Oct. 30, 2025. - photo by Stephen Lam/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, File
WASHINGTON (AP) — The National Park Service said Tuesday it is going to start charging the millions of international tourists who visit U.S. parks each year an extra $100 to enter some of the most popular sites, while leaving them out of fee-free days that will be reserved for American residents. The announcement declaring “America-first entry fee policies” comes as national parks deal with the strain of a major staff reduction and severe budget cuts, along with recovering from damage during the recent government shutdown and significant lost revenue due to fees not being collected during that time. The fee change will impact 11 national parks, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.