National Park Hours: Are the National Parks open on Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples Day? [Updated October 2022]

Are the National Parks open on Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples Day?

As of 2021, Columbus Day is now also Indigenous Peoples Day, to honor the many Native American people who were killed and displaced by Christopher Columbus.

But what people really care about is the day off of work.

One thing you might be thinking of doing on Monday is heading to a local national park to get out into nature. But will these places be closed for the holiday?

According to the National Park Service, the national parks will be closed. WOMP WOMP.

The only Federally recognized day the parks are open is Fourth of July, when many will be holding events.

A list of all the National Parks that are closed on Columbus Day, Indigenous Peoples Day

• Acadia
• American Samoa
• Arches
• Badlands
• Big Bend
• Biscayne
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison
• Bryce Canyon
• Cabrillo
• Canyonlands
• Capitol Reef
• Carlsbad Caverns
• Channel Islands
• Congaree
• Crater Lake
• Cuyahoga Valley
• Death Valley
• Denali
• Dry Tortugas
• Everglades
• Gates of the Arctic
• Gettysburg National Military Park
• Glacier
• Glacier Bay
• Grand Canyon
• Grand Teton
• Great Basin
• Great Sand Dunes
• Great Smoky Mountains
• Guadalupe Mountains
• Haleakala
• Hawai’i Volcanoes
• Harpers Ferry
• Hot Springs
• Isle Royale
• Joshua Tree
• Katmai
• Kenai Fjords
• Kings Canyon
• Kobuk Valley
• Lake Clark
• Lassen Volcanic
• Mammoth Cave
• Mesa Verde
• Mount Rainier
• North Cascades
• Organ Pipe Cactus
• Olympic
• Petrified Forest
• Pinnacles
• Redwood
• Rocky Mountain
• Saguaro
• Sequoia
• Shenandoah
• Theodore Roosevelt
• Valley Forge
• Virgin Islands
• Voyageurs
• Wind Cave
• Wrangell–St. Elias
• Yellowstone
• Yosemite
• Zion

What is Indigenous Peoples Day?

Many people still do not realize that what we once knew as Columbus Day is now also Indigenous People Day, as of 2021. According to a proclamation from US President Joe Biden called “The contributions that Indigenous peoples have made throughout history — in public service, entrepreneurship, scholarship, the arts, and countless other fields — are integral to our Nation, our culture, and our society.  Indigenous peoples have served, and continue to serve, in the United States Armed Forces with distinction and honor — at one of the highest rates of any group — defending our security every day.  ”