Grand Canyon National Park will be joining national park sites around the country in celebrating the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday with a fee free weekend.

Entrance fees will be waived for all visitors to Grand Canyon National Park January 14 – 16, 2012.  Visitors arriving in the park on any one of those three days will be allowed to enter free of charge. Those who plan to spend time in the park beyond the 16th will need to pay the regular entrance fee for the remainder of their stay.

“Winter can be a wonderful time to visit the Grand Canyon,” says park Deputy Superintendent Palma Wilson.  “There are fewer people in the park and the pace is slower, more relaxing.  Fee free days are a great opportunity to discover a new season in your favorite national park.”

The fee free designation applies to entrance fees only and does not affect fees for camping, reservations, tours or use of concessions.  Park entrance stations will have Interagency Senior and Annual Passes available for those who wish to purchase them.

Park visitors are reminded that Grand Canyon’s South Rim sits at approximately 7,000 feet and that winter weather and driving conditions are always a possibility during the month of January.

The National Park Service will be offering additional fee free day throughout 2012, including April 21 – 29 (National Parks Week), June 9 (Get Outdoors Day), September 29 (National Public Lands Day) and November 10 –12 (Veterans Day weekend.)

For more on what there is to see and do in Grand Canyon National Park, please visit the park’s web site at www.nps.gov/grca.  For more on National Park Service fee free days, go to www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm.