Minnesota national sites offer free admission

by Elizabeth Baier, Minnesota Public Radio

St. Paul, Minn. — For three weekends this summer, the National Park Service will waive entrance fees at more than 100 sites across the country, in an effort to increase tourism and boost the economy.

Two sites in Minnesota -- Grand Portage National Monument and Pipestone National Monument -- will allow visitors to enter without paying a fee during the weekends of June 20-21, July 18-19, and August 15-16.

The two monuments are among 147 sites around the country the National Park Service will waive fees for during those three weekends.

The waiver does not include other fees collected in advance or by contractors -- such as fees charged for camping, reservations, tours and use of concessions. The entrance fees typically range from $3 to $25.

Around the region, other sites waiving fees include:

• Badlands National Park and Jewel Cave National Monument in South Dakota;
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota;
• Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa.