Planning a visit to the USA in 2026 - read this

[unc.si]

If anyone is planning to go to the USA in 2026 and also planning on visiting any National Parks, especially the most popular ones (Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, Everglades, Grand Teton etc) then it will be worth looking into getting National Park passes now.

Charges are going up, and there's a surcharge for non US residents of $100 (per person I think) for the 11 most popular parks.

The annual America the Beautiful pass is also going up from $80 to $250 for visitors. However, you can still buy them from the National Parks service for $80 (plus $20 shipping), and they will be valid up to 31 December 2026. They cover the whole car, so even if you're just going to one of the big parks its going to save money if you order a pass now rather than wait until you get there. For a family of 4 visiting Yosemite and Sequoia / Kings Canyon it would come to $100 for a pass (including shipping) vs either $250 for a pass or a whopping $860 (surcharge plus basic entry fee).

even if you just plan to visit one park solo its still cheaper to buy the ATB pass in 2025 rather than wait

[unc.si]

details of passes and charges here: https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm

note that the surcharge only applies to 11 of the major parks so if you're (eg) visiting Vegas and planning on trips to say Grand Canyon West Rim (run by the Navajo Nation, not the National Parks Service, so has separate fees), Death Valley and JTNP then its probably not worth it. Only applies if you're visiting one of the 11. Details of the 11 affected parks are in the NPS link above

[unc.si.]

Just a bump in case anyone is thinking of a US road trip in 2026. Just a few days left to save several hundred dollars if you’ve got a trip to the Grand Canyon planned.

[zipnolan]

Do they want to actively discourage tourism?

[Dr. Giggles]

Do they want to actively discourage tourism?

I guess The Donald doesn't feel that it makes America great.

Can't have all these damn Johnny foreigners cluttering up the place.

[unc.si]

Interesting that Canada are taking the opposite approach. Was in NS in July and went to the Cabot Trail and Louisbourg fortress completely free of charge - all National Park entrance fees waived for the summer to persuade Canadians to holiday at home and encourage inward tourism. I believe that they're doing the same in Summer 2026.

With the US, the NPS did lose a lot of revenue in the shutdown, keeping parks open but not collecting entrance fees, so maybe its partly recouping some of that, or maybe its just prioritising Americans First at the busiest parks. No idea really - just highlighting to anyone that its worth getting a pass now if you plan to visit one of the big parks in 2026.

[forestfan]

Do they want to actively discourage tourism?

I guess The Donald doesn't feel that it makes America great.

Can't have all these damn Johnny foreigners cluttering up the place.

They want to scan everyone’s social media to make sure they’ve never said anything negative about King Donald I, too…

[unc.si]

Do they want to actively discourage tourism?

I guess The Donald doesn't feel that it makes America great.

Can't have all these damn Johnny foreigners cluttering up the place.

They want to scan everyone’s social media to make sure they’ve never said anything negative about King Donald I, too…

That's just a proposal for the ESTA application. Optional at the moment (I've never provided the optional info on any ESTA application but think I did provide it for my Known Traveller screening for Global Entry) although I suspect they may put it as a mandatory requirement for ESTA sometime soonish.
Can't really see it being an issue for 99% of people, other than it may take a bit longer to get the ESTA if they actually do comprehensive checks. Would imagine that they will just screen for any social media links with known extremist organisations.

[forestfan]

Do they want to actively discourage tourism?

I guess The Donald doesn't feel that it makes America great.

Can't have all these damn Johnny foreigners cluttering up the place.

They want to scan everyone’s social media to make sure they’ve never said anything negative about King Donald I, too…

That's just a proposal for the ESTA application. Optional at the moment (I've never provided the optional info on any ESTA application but think I did provide it for my Known Traveller screening for Global Entry) although I suspect they may put it as a mandatory requirement for ESTA sometime soonish.
Can't really see it being an issue for 99% of people, other than it may take a bit longer to get the ESTA if they actually do comprehensive checks. Would imagine that they will just screen for any social media links with known extremist organisations.

So not just a bit of general criticism of the Fartmeister on an obscure fantasy football forum?

It will put a lot of people off applying. Suggestions were also made a while back about potentially checking/unlocking devices at customs, that may even have been under the Biden administration…