Looking to go on an adventure next year? National Park Service releases 2025 ‘free entrance days’ schedule

By Valerie Bonk
December 8, 2024 | 7:47 PM

Planning your trips for next year? The National Park Service just revealed the days in which you can get into the parks at no cost.

Parks that charge a fee to visit will have “free entrance days” on national holidays and a few other select dates for a total of six days in 2025.

“Whether you are a family looking for a weekend getaway, friends seeking a memorable outing or even solo adventurers desiring to connect with nature, free entrance days make it easier for everyone to explore the parks,” NPS said in a news release.

About 100 of the more than 430 national parks charge a fee to enter.

The “free entrance days” are:

Jan. 20: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
April 19: First Day of National Park Week
June 19: Juneteenth National Independence Day
Aug. 4: Great American Outdoors Act Signing Day
Sept. 27: National Public Lands Day
Nov. 11: Veterans Day

Find more information on the parks and where to find them on the National Park Service website.

Between prices and a diarrhea-causing parasite, lettuce is causing hard times at some restaurants

By The Associated Press
July 30, 2026 | 1:13 AM

It’s been a choppy year for restaurants that lean into lettuce. Lettuce prices rose sharply in the first half of 2026 due to hot weather in Arizona, where about one-third of America’s lettuce is grown. Now, restaurants are dealing with the fallout from a cyclospora outbreak linked to shredded lettuce that has sickened thousands of Americans. Taco Bell will likely see the biggest sales impact from the outbreak, which began in late June. Federal health officials first tied the outbreak to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. Later, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said customers in Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania were also affected. Taco Bell said on July 17 that it had voluntarily removed shredded iceberg lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms from its U.S. restaurants. But its customer volume has suffered. As of July 23, Taco Bell visits were 21% lower than average across the U.S., according to Placer.ai, a market research company.

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