Gas up those Winnebagos, Coloradans, because on Tuesday, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that national parks, monuments and recreation areas will offer three weekends this summer with no entrance fees.
Grand Canyon? Gratis. And Zion for zilch.
The idea, Salazar said in a news conference at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, is to help cash-strapped Americans afford good, old-fashioned family vacations this summer, while also giving a little jolt to the communities surrounding the nation’s treasures.
“National parks also serve as powerful economic engines for local communities,” Salazar said in a statement, “and we hope that promoting visitation will give a small shot in the arm to businesses in the area.”
The free weekends, which will spare visitors entrance fees ranging from $3 to $25, will be June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16.
In Colorado — where nearly 5.5 million people visited one of the state’s national parks, monuments or recreation areas last year — the announcement was greeted with enthusiasm.
“We love to see visitors come anytime and for whatever reason they choose,” said Suzy Blackhurst, spokeswoman for the Estes Park Convention and Visitors Bureau adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park.
At the same time, several people said it will be difficult to predict exactly how much impact the free days will have.
Rocky Mountain National Park, the state’s busiest national park and seventh-busiest in the nation with 2.7 million visitors in 2008, often hosts a free day or two each year, park spokeswoman Kyle Patterson said. But the park can’t determine whether those free days result in increased visits because they typically fall during already busy periods.
Blackhurst said Estes Park typically sees increased traffic during the free days.
In Florissant, Dale Thompson said he’s unsure how many people visiting the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument also stop at his Costello Street Coffee House. But he hopes free days will boost the number.
“We always hope for that, and I’m sure we’ll get some of it,” Thompson said. “But it’s kind of hard to track.”
Out in Fruita, on the edge of the Colorado National Monument, Chamber of Commerce director Mary Lou Wilson said whatever extra traffic the free days generate will be welcome.
“It’s going to be just another plus for our economy,” she said. “It can’t do anything but good.”
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com
What to see where
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will throw open the gates for three fee-free weekends at the 147 National Park Service sites that typically charge for admission, including nine in Colorado. Dare to cross the borders of the state? You can find other fee-free parks at .
Here’s what’s going on:
BENT’S OLD FORT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
Where: La Junta
What’s up: The “Castle of the Plains,” a reconstructed 1840s adobe fur-trading post, features historical re-enactors for tours and demonstrations.
BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK
Where: Montrose
What’s up: Despite ample opportunities for outdoor activities, day-trippers might consider the South Rim Road scenic drive, featuring 12 overlooks, most of which are reached by walking a short trail.
COLORADO NATIONAL MONUMENT
Where: Fruita
What’s up: The monument’s canyons, monoliths and rock formations provide a breathtaking backdrop for hiking and cycling.
DINOSAUR NATIONAL MONUMENT
Where: Dinosaur (and Vernal, Utah)
What’s up: Take a scenic drive through lands once dominated by dinosaurs on the Tour of the Tilted Rocks, which covers 11 (one-way) miles featuring petroglyphs, views of geologic formations and access to hiking trailheads.
FLORISSANT FOSSIL BEDS NATIONAL MONUMENT
Where: Florissant
What’s up: Popular for hiking, this grassy mountain valley is home to one of the world’s richest fossil deposits.
GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE
Where: Mosca
What’s up: This national park features a wide range of landscapes, from desert to forest to grassland.
HOVENWEEP NATIONAL MONUMENT
Where: Cortez (and Blanding, Utah)
What’s up: Among its expanse of mesa tops and canyons are six Ancestral Puebloan-era villages that feature multi-storied towers.
MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK
Where: Cortez and Mancos
What’s up: Spanish for “green table,” Mesa Verde has 4,000 known archeological sites — including 600 cliff dwellings — that offer a glimpse at life of the Ancestral Puebloan people who lived here from roughly A.D. 600 to 1300.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
Where: Estes Park and Grand Lake
What’s up: All of it! With Longs Peak topping them all at 14,259 feet, the park features at least 60 mountains that surpass 12,000 feet.
Sources: National Park Service; Denver Post archives
Compiled by Barry Osborne, The Denver Post
