National Park Free Weekend (August 14-15)

The National Park Service will have free entrance to all National Parks the weekend of August 14 and 15 , 2010. This is a great way to explore our national heritage of beautiful park lands in a real Colorado landscape. There are also free days planned for September 25 and November 11.

Many of you remember what life was like before "Fee Demo", the National Park Service's test of imposing expensive fees on park entrance, which have since become permanent. Many of us no longer visit the National Parks because of these fees. This is a good chance to get outdoors and explore areas that we normally cannot.

The free weekend is valid at all National Parks that charge an entrance fee. For Denver and the Front Range, the nearest parks are Rocky Mountain National Park and Florissant Fossil Beds, although there are several others if you can travel a bit farther. Some of the more distant Colorado parks (in order of my favorites) are Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, as well as Arches / Canyonlands in Utah. A trip to a National Park is one of the best things to do in Colorado, and free entrance makes it a good deal as well.

Here is a full list of free parks: