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Americas National Parks offer some of the countrys most impressive vistas and that fact draws hundreds of millions of people to the parks each year. But more changes are on the way for the National Parks in 2026 and visitors arent likely to be happy with all of them. Anyone traveling to visit a destination thats part of the park system especially from abroad should expect to see an array of new policies implemented under the Trump administration, which already made sweeping cuts to the parks budget and began to weave its America first agenda into some of the countrys most cherished places in 2025. On some level, the Trump administration is trying to reshape the National Parks system into a microcosm of its own ideology, with perks for Americans, higher costs for everyone else, and a new aesthetic that puts a very specific idea of patriotism at its center. Entry changes on the way this year Starting in 2026, the parks will offer more dates with free entry for visitors, but only U.S. residents will get in for free. The Trump administration will remove existing free admission dates on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth, while adding a new holiday for President Trumps birthday. The new patriotic fee-free dates, are as follows: Presidents Day (February 16, 2026) Memorial Day (May 25, 2026) Flag Day/President Trumps birthday (June 14, 2026) Independence Day weekend (July 35, 2026) 110th Birthday of the National Park Service (August 25, 2026) Constitution Day (Sept. 17, 2026) Theodore Roosevelts birthday (Oct. 27, 2026) Veterans Day (November 11, 2026) For days with normal admission, entry into the parks can be obtained through a day pass (previously $35 or less for a vehicle with a lower cost for visitors without a car) or with the annual America the Beautiful pass. While some parks dont charge admission at all, the most visited parks do and thats where park visitors are likely to notice the changes. In many instances, day pass pricing will go up for non-U.S. residents, who will now need to pay $100 per person to get into 11 of the most popular parks. Parks with higher day fees starting this year are Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Everglades, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion National Parks. The annual pass will continue to cost $80 for U.S. residents, but the price will shoot up to $250 for visitors who dont live in the U.S. President Trumps leadership always puts American families first, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said. These policies ensure that U.S. taxpayers, who already support the National Park System, continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations. Motorcycle riders will also get special status under the 2026 changes. Starting this year, one annual pass covers entry for two motorcycles, making national park adventures more accessible for riders and families who travel on two wheels. While that news is a boon for motorcyclists, it may also put an additional burden on parks where two-wheeled accidents are common. Because many of Americas most beautiful places also feature winding roads, dramatic cliffs and quick-changing weather, motorcycle accidents feature prominently in the incident reports that track injuries and fatalities in the National Parks. Changing a well-loved design to be patriotic Controversially, the administration will also change the design for the annual passes, which traditionally feature animals and nature scenes showcasing a particular parks natural beauty. This year, the Trump administration will introduce new, modernized graphics for all annual passes, featuring bold, patriotic designs, a change that has many annual passholders on social media brainstorming workarounds to avoid a possible Trump-centric design, including vinyl stickers that raise money for the National Parks Foundation. Many annual parks pass holders, author included, collect the passes from year to year and enjoy discovering each years fresh nature design. The look and price of the annual pass isnt the only thing changing. This year will be the first to introduce a digital version of the America the Beautiful pass. The system previously relied on National Parks visitors holding onto a credit card-sized pass for a full calendar year, with little recourse if they misplaced it. The digital pass option, new designs notwithstanding, is one of the only new pass changes that even Trumps critics will probably appreciate in 2026. Many changes already swept the National Parks in 2025 2025 was a year of dramatic change to the National Parks system, which is still reeling from the government shutdown, budget cuts and additional strain to its already tight resources. In March, the Trump administration directed the U.S. Department of the Interior to remove any displayed signage, books, monuments or installations that “inappropriately disparage Americans, past or living.” In an executive order, the Trump administration claimed that a corrosive ideology spread by political opponents like the Biden administration unfairly painted a picture of America as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed. Instead of capturing accurate historical accounts that place the national parks into context, the Trump administration prioritizes painting America in a positive light and glossing over the more complex human story of many of the countrys most beautiful places, which often sit on land once occupied by Native American tribes. A rocky year for parks employees New policies reshaping the National Parks in 2026 may do little to address the underlying problems the NPS faces, many of which have been worsened by the Trump administration itself. An investigation by The New York Times found that over 90 National Parks reported problems between April and July 2025 related to federal budget cuts, staff departures and a freeze on hiring. Those problems include reduced visitor center hours, skipped visitor fees, vanishing educational programming and even dirtier bathrooms, as a smaller parks workforce is spread even thinner than before. Since Trump took office, the NPS has lost a quarter of its permanent workers, including many who accepted the administrations buyout offer for federal employees. At least 20 percent of the national parks were understaffed or significantly strained in 2025, according to internal interior department data obtained by the Times. Many parks also face other serious issues that could impact visitor safety, including a growing backlog of trail maintenance tasks and a reduced emergency services response a risky proposition in some of Americas wildest landscapes. Outgoing director of the National Park Service Charles F. Chuck Sams, the first Native American named to lead the NPS, expressed deep concern about the impact on park staff in an interview with Underscore Native News early this year. How can the national parks be healthy and happy if their staff are not healthy and happy? Sams asked. I have great concerns for the staff of the National Park Service. You can feel their angst, their confusion and their frustration and their anger.
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This new year comes with a new moon. Skywatchers are in for a treat this weekend as 2026 rings in the first supermoon of the year, along with a Quadrantid meteor shower. The January full “wolf moon” is forecast to appear overnight into tomorrow morning Saturday, January 3, peaking at 5:03 a.m. ET when it will be at its fullest, according to EarthSky. However, don’t be fooled: It will appear full both nights, due to its close proximity to Earth (making it appear 14% larger), and proximity to Jupiter and Gemini’s twin starsall of which will make it appear even brighter. All that light, however, could make it harder to see the Quadrantid meteor shower: bright, short-lived fireballs that can streak across the sky at up to 120 per hour, and come from debris left behind by asteroid 2003 EH1. January’s supermoon is, technically, the last in a string of four consecutive supermoons that started in late 2025. Simultaneously, it’s the first of three supermoons on deck for 2026. The others follow in November and December. Why is it called a wolf moon? January’s annual “wolf moon” is thought to be named after the animal, which is known to howl during long winter nights, per the Old Farmer’s Almanac. Native Americans used the moons to track the seasons, and the wolf moon may have gotten its name from European settlers. How to view this ‘wolf moon’ To view the wolf moon, look to the eastern horizon tonight at dusk, Friday January 2, right before sunset. “It will appear particularly large while close to the horizon thanks to a phenomenon called the “moon illusion,” a visual effect that makes low-hanging moons seem oversized,” according to Space.com. (Also, check out the sunset on Saturday, January 3, for same effect.) This winter’s supermoon will be easier and more convenient to see because it will be visible low in the sky once its dark, and then climb higher in the sky, according to BBC’s Sky at Night magazine.
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E-Commerce
President Donald Trump has spent much of his two-week vacation in Florida golfing. But when he gets back to the White House, there’s a military golf course that he’s never played that he’s eyeing for a major construction project. Long a favored getaway for presidents seeking a few hours solace from the stress of running the free world, the Courses at Andrews inside the secure confines of Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the White House are known as the president’s golf course.” Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Joe Biden have spent time there, and Barack Obama played it more frequently than any president, roughly 110 times in eight years. Trump has always preferred the golf courses his family owns spending about one of every four days of his second term at one of them. But he’s now enlisted golf champion Jack Nicklaus as the architect to overhaul the Courses at Andrews. Its amazing that an individual has time to take a couple hours away from the world crises. And theyre people like everybody else, said Michael Thomas, the former general manager of the course, who has golfed with many of the presidents visiting Andrews over the years. Andrews, better known as the home of Air Force One, has two 18-hole courses and a 9-hole one. Its facilities have undergone renovations in the past, including in 2018, when Congress approved funding to replace aging presidential aircraft and to build a new hangar and support facilities. That project was close enough to the courses that they had to be altered then, too. Trump toured the base by helicopter before Thanksgiving with Nicklaus, who has designed top courses the world over. The president called Andrews a great place, thats been destroyed over the years, through lack of maintenance. Other golfers, though, describe Andrews grounds as in good shape, despite some dry patches. Online reviews praise the course’s mature trees, tricky roughs, and ponds and streams that serve as water hazards. The courses are mostly flat, but afford views of the surrounding base. “They all like to drive the cart” The first president to golf at Andrews was Ford in 1974. Thomas began working there a couple years later, and was general manager from 1981 until he retired in 2019. He said the Secret Service over the years used as many as 28 golf carts as well as the president’s usual 30-car motorcade to keep the perimeter secure. Its a Cecil B. DeMille production every time, said Thomas, who had the opportunity to play rounds with four different presidents, and with Biden when he was vice president. He said the commanders in chief generally enjoyed their time out on the course in their own unique ways, but they all like to drive the cart because they never get an opportunity to drive.” Its like getting your drivers license all over again,” Thomas laughed. Trump golfs most weekends, and as of Friday, has spent an estimated 93 days of his second term doing so, according to an Associated Press analysis of his schedules. That tally includes days when Trump was playing courses his family owns in Virginia, around 30 miles (48 kilometers) from the White House, and near his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago, where he’s spending the winter holidays. It also includes 10 days Trump spent staying at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, where his schedule allowed time for rounds of golf. Trump has visited Andrews in the past, but the White House and base have no record of him playing the courses. Another of Trump’s construction projects Andrews military history dates to the Civil War, when Union troops used a church near Camp Springs, Maryland, as sleeping quarters. Its golf course opened in 1960. The White House said the renovation will be the most significant in the history of Andrews. The courses and clubhouse need improvements due to age and wear, it said, and there are discussions about including a multifunctional event center as part of the project. President Trump is a champion-level golfer with an extraordinary eye for detail and design,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said in a statement. “His vision to renovate and beautify Joint Base Andrews’ golf courses will bring much-needed improvements that service members and their families will be able to enjoy for generations to come. Plans are in the very early stages, and the cost of and funding for the project haven’t been determined, the White House said. Trump has said only that it will require very little money.” The Andrews improvements join a bevy of Trump construction projects, including demolishing the White Houses East Wing for a sprawling ballroom now expected to cost $400 million, redoing the bathroom attached to the Lincoln bedroom and replacing the Rose Gardens lawn with a Mar-a-Lago-like patio area. Outside the White House, Trump has led building projects at the Kennedy Center and wants to erect a Paris-style arch near the Lincoln Memorial, and has said he wants to rebuild Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia. On Wednesday, meanwhile, the Trump administration ended a lease agreement with a nonprofit for three public golf courses in Washington which could allow the president to further shape golfing in the nation’s capital. The White House, however, said that move isn’t related to the plans for Andrews. Presidential pers of golfing at Andrews When the president is golfing, Andrews officials block off nine holes at a time so no one plays in front of him, allowing for extra security while also ensuring consistent speed-of-play, Thomas said. That’s relatively easily done, given that the courses aren’t open to the public. They’re usually reserved for active or retired members of the military and their families, as well as some Defense Department-linked federal employees. Thomas remembers playing a round with the older President Bush, a World Golf Hall of Fame inductee known for fast play, while first lady Barbara Bush walked with Millie, the first couples English Springer Spaniel. George W. Bush also played fast, Thomas said, and got additional exercise by frequently riding his mountain bike before golfing. When he wasn’t golfing at Andrews, Obama tried to recreate at least part of the experience back home. He had a White House golf simulator installed after then-first lady Michelle Obama asked Thomas how they might acquire a model that the president had seen advertised on the Golf Channel. Thomas gave her a contact at the network. Obama famously cut short a round at Andrews after nine holes in 2011 to hustle back to the White House for what turned out to be a top-secret review of final preparations for a Navy SEAL raid on the compound of Osama bin Laden. But, while Thomas was golfing with presidents, he said he never witnessed play interrupted by an important call or any major emergency that forced them off the course mid-hole. There also were never any rain-outs. If there was rain coming, theyd get the weather forecast before we would, Thomas said. They would cancel quick on that. By Will Weissert, Associated Press
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