USFS waiving fees for part of long weekend

The U.S. Forest Service will waive fees at most of its day-use recreation sites five times in 2015, beginning with Jan.19, in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

No fees are charged at any time on 98 percent of national forests and grasslands, and approximately two-thirds of developed recreation sites in national forests and grasslands can be used for free. Check with your local forest or grassland or on Recreation.gov (link is external) to see if your destination charges a fee. Use the Forest Service map to find a national forest or grassland near you.

The 2015 fee-free days observed by the Forest Service are Jan. 19, Feb. 16, June 13, Sept. 26 and Nov. 11.

The fee-free program is in cooperation with other Federal land management agencies under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act. Fees are waived generally for day-use areas, such as picnic grounds, developed trailheads and destination visitor centers. Concessionaire-operated sites may be included in the waiver if the permit holder wishes to participate. Contact your local national forest or grassland to learn what fees might be waived.