National parks - five in Florida - are offering free admission on Veterans Day
An airboat ride through Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in the Florida Everglades. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
TAMPA (FOX 13) - On Veterans Day, anyone can enter a national park across the U.S. -- free of charge.
The National Park Service offers free admission on Veterans Day, and this year it will be celebrated on Sunday, November 11. The free entrance days are offered three other times during the year: Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday in January, the first day of National Park Week in April, and on National Public Lands Day in September. Visitors can any federally-managed parks on those dates.
A full list of participating national parks can be found on the National Park Service website. There are five parks in Florida that are participating:
Canaveral National Seashore: located between New Smyrna Beach and Titusville.
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument: located in St. Augustine.
Dry Tortugas National Park: located 70 miles west of Key West. It is accessible only by boat or seaplane.
Everglades National Park: located outside of Miami, and covers thousands of acres throughout Dade, Monroe and Collier counties.
Gulf Islands National Seashore: located in the panhandle, along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi.
National Park Service officials say visitors should check in with each park for operation hours and event schedules.