If you don’t have plans for Presidents Day, maybe it’s time to make some. National parks and national forests that charge entrance fees will be free to all on the Monday holiday.
That means you save $25 at Joshua Tree National Park and $30 at Yosemite National Park, for example. And, in the local Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles, you won’t need a $5 Adventure Pass to visit.
Once you’re in, check in at the visitor center to plan your own fun or join a ranger activity.
Yosemite will be hosting a ranger-led snowshoe walk at 10:30 a.m. Monday. Meet at the Yosemite Ski and Snowboard Area and dress warmly; snowshoes will be provided.
For something less strenuous, meet a ranger in front of the Yosemite Museum at 2 p.m. for an hour and a half walk that will focus on “Yosemite’s First People.”
At Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Parks, you can learn about the massive sequoia trees during a ranger talk at 10 a.m. Monday. Meet at the General Grant Tree in the Grant’s Grove section of the park.
Or you can go on a leisurely hourlong walk among the sequoias with a ranger as your guide. The hike meets at 2 p.m. at the General Grant Tree parking lot.
If you’re a desert fan, Death Valley National Park can keep you busy all day. Rangers lead walks at 9 a.m. in Golden Canyon, 10 a.m. to the sand-sculpted Mesquite Flat Dunes, 11 a.m. to the park’s lower-than-sea-level spot Badwater, and 2:30 p.m. to the historic Harmony Borax Works.
Need more ideas for Monday and beyond? The National Parks Foundation offers a number of ideas and guides, like the National Parks Owner’s Guide and Winter Wonderlands. Go to the website and register, and you can download them for free.
Plant enthusiasts catalog wildflowers blooming at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Plant enthusiasts catalog wildflowers blooming at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Plant enthusiasts catalog wildflowers blooming at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
Plant enthusiasts catalog wildflowers blooming at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.
The National Park of American Samoa, a haven of rainforest and empty beaches that includes pieces of three South Pacific Islands, is about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii.
The National Park of American Samoa, a haven of rainforest and empty beaches that includes pieces of three South Pacific Islands, is about 2,500 miles southwest of Hawaii.
Giant snow dump in the Sierra
Giant snow dump in the Sierra
Botanical wonders abound in the wild Sonoran Desert of Organ Pipe National Monument and Saguaro National Park. Just mind the heat. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
Botanical wonders abound in the wild Sonoran Desert of Organ Pipe National Monument and Saguaro National Park. Just mind the heat. (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
The next president will find a Washington, D.C., that's dramatically different from the city Barack Obama saw at his inauguration in 2009, or even the one in 2013. Museums and hotels, new and renewed. Restaurants left and right. Lower crime and rising neighborhoods, too.
The next president will find a Washington, D.C., that's dramatically different from the city Barack Obama saw at his inauguration in 2009, or even the one in 2013. Museums and hotels, new and renewed. Restaurants left and right. Lower crime and rising neighborhoods, too.
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