Minnesota Offers Free State Park Day This January

Are you starting to feel cabin fever? I know we are at home, and we're looking for ways to get out of the house and burn off some of this stir-crazy energy. There's good news for everyone in our situation. I was reading on the Minnesota DNR website about free park days, and one of them is coming up very soon.

Minnesota offers free park days 4 times a year.

The State of Minnesota offers several chances for everyone to get out and enjoy our state's natural beauty. Minnesota state parks are open all year round, but they get most of their visitors in the warmer months.

Minnesota has a free park day for every season.

That's why Minnesota offers a free park day for each of our four seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. No vehicle permit is required for the free park days. There are also some other activities you can enjoy for free as well.

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Free Park Days For 2025

This year, the free park days start in January and have one for each season. Here are the dates for free admission in 2025:

• Monday, January 20, 2025
• Saturday, April 26, 2025
• Saturday, June 14, 2025
• Friday, November 28, 2025

The goal is to encourage families and friends to spend time together in nature.

The reason Minnesota does this is to introduce families to the outdoors and promote the benefits of being in nature. According to the Minnesota DNR, getting outdoors improves one's physical and mental health. It makes exercise more fun and can boost your mood. That's definitely beneficial to get outside this time of year, on the darkest days of winter!