National Parks free on MLK Day

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - If you are looking for something to do on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, National Parks are offering free admission.

There are over 400 National Parks throughout the country, including seven in South Carolina, that bring in over a million visitors each year.

One veteran, Ruben Caro, visiting Fort Sumter for the first time, stresses the importance of learning about history.

“Well to learn about the past helps you know about the future,” Caro says.

It typically costs $10 to enter Fort Moultrie but will be free Monday and four other days this year.

The other days’ free admission will be offered this year are:

• Saturday, April 22: First day of National Park Week
• Friday, Aug. 4: Great American Outdoors Day
• Saturday, Sept. 23: National Public Lands Day
• Saturday, Nov. 11: Veterans Day

“To me, it’s important to memorize or to in memory of fallen soldiers and that sort of thing,” Caro says. “It’s important to me to know a little bit more about the service I gave the country.”

National Park Service Director Chuck Sams says in a news release that the organization is committed to increasing access to parks and promoting the advantages of outdoor recreation.

“National parks are really amazing places and we want everyone to experience them,” Sams says. “The entrance fee-free days encourage people to discover the beauty, history, and inspiration awaiting them in more than 400 national parks throughout the country.”

The seven national parks in South Carolina are:

• Mt. Pleasant: Charles Pinckney
• Hopkins: Congaree
• Chesnee: Cowpens
• Charleston Harbor: Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie
• Blacksburg: Kings Mountain
• Ninety Six: Ninety Six
• SC: Overmountain Victory
• SC: Reconstruction Era

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