6 US National Parks That All Charge $30 for Vehicle Entry

By Travelog Editorial Team · Updated August 10, 2026

Six national parks charge $30 for standard vehicle entry: Mesa Verde, Hawaii Volcanoes, Arches, Olympic, Theodore Roosevelt, and Crater Lake (summer rate). Two of the six, Mesa Verde and Crater Lake, drop to a lower off-season rate, $20, worth checking before a trip planned outside peak months.

Six national parks share the National Park Service's second fee tier, $30 for standard vehicle entry, one notch below the $35 charged at the busiest parks like Yellowstone and Grand Canyon.

The Six, Side by Side

Park	State	Seasonal Variation
Mesa Verde	Colorado	$30 peak season (May 1-Oct 22), $20 off-season
Hawaii Volcanoes	Hawaii	Flat $30, no seasonal change, no non-resident surcharge
Arches	Utah	Flat $30
Olympic	Washington	Flat $30
Theodore Roosevelt	North Dakota	Flat $30, moving cashless-only from May 2026
Crater Lake	Oregon	$30 summer (May 22-Oct 31), $20 winter

Two Parks With a Real Off-Season Discount

Mesa Verde and Crater Lake both drop to $20 outside their peak season, a genuine, plannable saving for anyone visiting in the shoulder or winter months. Crater Lake's split runs May 22 through October 31 at $30, and $20 the rest of the year; Mesa Verde's peak window is May 1 through October 22.

Hawaii Volcanoes' Real Exception

Unlike Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, and most of the parks on the $35 list, Hawaii Volcanoes charges no additional non-resident surcharge at all, a genuine, checkable exception to the pattern that applies at many of the National Park Service's other busiest parks.

What This Means for Planning a Trip

$30 covers a full week at all six of these parks, but two of them reward off-peak timing with a real $10 discount. Check the specific season before assuming the flat $30 rate applies year-round at Mesa Verde or Crater Lake.

Plan my trip -- $9 →

Related Reading

• Directory -- every comparison page in this collection.
• 5 US National Parks That All Charge the Same $35 Entrance Fee -- the National Park Service's next fee tier up.
• USA's Free-to-Enter National Landmarks -- the National Park Service sites that charge nothing at all.