In celebration of the signing of the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020, all National Park Service units (Parks, Monuments, Historic Sites) will be open to the public for FREE on Thursday, August 4. This includes: entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. The nearest to the metro area is splendid Rocky Mountain National Park between Estes Park and Grand Lake.
IMPORTANT: You still MUST reserve a timed entry in advance here for RMNP. When you select August 4, it will note this is an “Entrance Fee Free Day” (though you still have to pay a $2 reservation fee.)
Reservations for August at RMNP opened on Friday, July 1. If all timeslots are booked, you can check back on August 3 at 5 p.m. MDT when the NPD releases more tickets.
Reservations are not required if you enter the park very early in the morning or after 6 p.m.
More details about the reservation system can be found here.
Before heading to any national park, monument or historic site, check its website first to learn its current entrance procedures, as many are operating with a similar reservation system. Also, even though you get free entry, other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not included.