For the second summer time in a row, Parks Canada will supply each Canadian and worldwide guests free admission in an effort to spice up native tourism.
A path within the Cape Breton Highlands (Photograph: Damian Lugowski / iStock through Getty)
Revealed Could 18, 2026 06:38PM
Simply months after the U.S. authorities started charging worldwide guests an additional $100 to enter some nationwide parks, Parks Canada is waiving entry charges to a few of the nation’s hottest leisure websites for the second yr in a row.
In a typical yr, guests to well-liked nationwide parks like Banff, and Jasper require the usage of a park go at a price of $12.25 CAD for adults, and $10.75 for seniors. Comparatively, most of the hottest U.S. parks cost $35 USD per home automobile and as much as $100 further for worldwide guests; as of final yr, fee-free days are restricted to U.S. residents as properly. In distinction, each Canadians and worldwide guests will have the ability to enter Parks Canada-managed websites with out prior registration between June 19 and September 7.
Parks Canada can also be decreasing some tenting and lodging charges by 25%, making tent and RV websites, backcountry tenting permits, and buildings like cabins and tipis extra accessible. Campers can merely guide their spot by way of Parks Canada to make sure that the low cost will probably be utilized to their reservation.
When Canada’s free nationwide park initiative launched in 2025, it instantly resulted in noticeable adjustments to site visitors, with Parks Canada recording a 13 % improve in guests in comparison with 2023.
Whereas Canada’s transfer to extend nationwide park entry efficiently elevated tourism, not everybody was in settlement that worldwide guests ought to preserve the identical perks as home guests, with opponents to the measure pointing to congestion in campsites and overuse in different well-liked places. (Parks Canada stated that site visitors and congestion had been similar to peak season numbers from earlier years.)
Whereas park entry charges will probably be waived, guests ought to nonetheless anticipate parking surcharges, which may value upwards of $42 per day in some locations. Vacationers must also anticipate to pay common admission within the area’s provincial and territorial parks, Quebec’s Sépaq parks, municipal and personal parks, and different locations that aren’t operated by Parks Canada.
