Free

An entrance pass is not required to access Hot Springs National Park.

Other National Park Service sites may require an entrance pass or fee. Depending on your trip plans, an interagency pass may save you money.

2025 Free Entrance Days in the National Parks

Come experience the national parks! All National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to everyone (other fees, including timed entry or reservation fees, may apply). Mark your calendar for these entrance fee-free dates:

Thursday, January 9 — National Day of Mourning for President James Earl Carter Jr.
Monday, January 20 — Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Saturday, April 19 — First Day of National Park Week
Thursday, June 19 — Juneteenth National Independence Day
Monday, August 4 — Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
Saturday, September 27 — National Public Lands Day
Tuesday, November 11 — Veterans Day

A grand piano with white lounge chairs and a decorative stained glass ceiling displaying what a Fordyce party room looked like — The Assembly Room on the 3rd floor of the Fordyce Bathhouse and Museum.
NPS Photo/M. Smith

Hot Springs National Park is a fee-free park! There is no entrance fee nor are there any additional charges for the park's brochure, junior ranger program, or ranger-led tours.

The park does have certain America the Beautiful Passes available at the Fordyce Bathhouse. There is a fee for camping at Gulpha Gorge campground. Learn more about both of these below.

Information about weddings, special use permits, and first ammendment activities can be found at the bottom of the page.

America the Beautiful Passes

Please note: Only the Access, 4th Grade, Military (Annual), and Military Veterans and Gold Star Families Lifetime* passes are available in the Fordyce Bathhouse. All other passes must be purchased online or at another site that sells the passes in-person.

*Beginning Nov. 11, 2022, veterans of the U.S. Armed Services and Gold Star Families can obtain a free lifetime pass to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites spread out across more than 400 million acres of public lands, including national parks, wildlife refuges, and forests.

America the Beautiful – The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes

The America the Beautiful – The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass Series includes different options of interagency passes that provide access to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas across the United States.

Passes cover:

entrance fees at National Park Service and US Fish and Wildlife sites
standard amenity fees (day-use fees) at Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, US Forest Service, and US Army Corps of Engineers sites

In general, passes cover the above types of fees for everyone in a personal vehicle at per-vehicle fee areas or up to four adults at sites that charge per person. Children ages 15 or under are admitted free. Two lifetime passes (Senior and Access) provide additional benefits, such as a 50-percent discount on camping at some sites. Always check with individual sites for details.

Interagency passes include:

Annual Pass: $80
Annual Military Pass: Free*
Lifetime Military Pass: Free*
Annual Fourth Grade Pass for US students in fourth grade: Free
Annual Senior Pass: $20
Lifetime Senior Pass: $80
Lifetime Access Pass: Free
Annual Volunteer Pass: Free (250 hours of volunteer service at any of the six participating federal agencies is required)

*A free Annual Military Pass is available for current US military members and their dependents. A free Lifetime Military Pass is available for Gold Star Families and US military veterans. Find detailed information about this new program, including who qualifies, acceptable forms of identification, and how to download a Gold Star Family voucher.