Last updated: June 10, 2026 at 9:00 AM ET
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A U.S. national park landscape at dawn during National Park Week

National Parks Navy Week 2026: Dates, Schedule, Events & National Park Week

StateNationwide
DatesApr 20 – 26, 2026
Anchor EventNational Park Week
CostFree
COMPLETEDFIRST-TIME HOST
Source: NAVCO Last verified Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Navy Week National Parks 2026 — Key Facts

Host city
National Parks, Nationwide
Dates
April 20 – 26, 2026
Anchor event
National Park Week
First-time host?
Yes
Cost
Free and open to the public
Operator
Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO)
Navy assets
NAVCO teams deployed to national parks across the country; Interactive STEM exhibits; Navy Band performances at selected parks; Sailor engagement at naval heritage sites
Coordinates
38.898°, -77.037°

Source: NAVCO — Navy Week National Parks 2026 · Last verified: June 10, 2026

MISSION DOSSIER

In a first-ever format for Navy Week, the 2026 program partners with the National Park Service during National Parks Week for a nationwide celebration of service and stewardship. Rather than concentrating in a single city, this unprecedented Navy Week deploys sailors to national parks and monuments across the country.

Visitors to participating parks — from Hot Springs and Zion to the Great Smoky Mountains, the Everglades, and the National Mall — can meet sailors, explore STEM exhibits, and discover the connections between the Navy's 250-year history and the places that preserve America's founding story.

Anchor Event

Anchor-event-confirmed

National Park Week, first designated in 1991, traditionally features fee-free days, ranger programs, Junior Ranger activities, and commemorative events across 430+ NPS sites. The 2026 theme is "Celebrate America's Story" in honor of the semiquincentennial. This is the first time in Navy Week's 20+ year history that a Navy Week is distributed nationwide rather than centered on a single city.

Anchor event website

Completely unprecedented format. This is the first time Navy Week has been distributed across multiple national parks nationwide rather than focused on a single city. No prior Navy Week has attempted a multi-site, geographically dispersed format.

What to Expect

  • First-ever multi-site Navy Week format
  • Naval heritage at national parks and monuments
  • STEM exhibits at participating parks
  • Sailor engagement nationwide
  • Connection between Navy history and NPS sites
  • Semiquincentennial celebrations

DAILY SCHEDULE

Day-by-day breakdown. Items marked "TBA" mean NAVCO hasn't published precise times yet — check the official NAVCO city page or anchor event website closer to event week for confirmed schedules.

Source key:NAVCO-confirmedConfirmed by the Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO) official city page.Anchor-event-confirmedConfirmed by the anchor event organizer (air show, festival, or host venue).Local context — unverifiedLocal context or expected programming compiled by NavyWeek.org — not yet confirmed by NAVCO.

Monday, April 20, 2026

TBA
  • Daily schedule TBALocal context — unverified

    NAVCO has not published a detailed daily breakdown for this day. Check the official NAVCO city page for updates.

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

TBA
  • Daily schedule TBALocal context — unverified

    NAVCO has not published a detailed daily breakdown for this day. Check the official NAVCO city page for updates.

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

TBA
  • Daily schedule TBALocal context — unverified

    NAVCO has not published a detailed daily breakdown for this day. Check the official NAVCO city page for updates.

Thursday, April 23, 2026

TBA
  • Daily schedule TBALocal context — unverified

    NAVCO has not published a detailed daily breakdown for this day. Check the official NAVCO city page for updates.

Friday, April 24, 2026

TBA
  • Daily schedule TBALocal context — unverified

    NAVCO has not published a detailed daily breakdown for this day. Check the official NAVCO city page for updates.

Saturday, April 25, 2026

TBA
  • Daily schedule TBALocal context — unverified

    NAVCO has not published a detailed daily breakdown for this day. Check the official NAVCO city page for updates.

Sunday, April 26, 2026

TBA
  • Daily schedule TBALocal context — unverified

    NAVCO has not published a detailed daily breakdown for this day. Check the official NAVCO city page for updates.

VENUES & MAP

NATIONAL PARKS1Hot Springs National Park2Zion National Park3Great Smoky Mountains National Park4Olympic National Park5Mesa Verde National Park6Everglades National Park7Cuyahoga Valley National Park8National Mall and Memorial Parks
Schematic map — not to scale. Pins are approximate locations of primary Navy Week venues in National Parks. Use the venue addresses below for navigation.
1.

Hot Springs National Park

Local context — unverified
369 Central Ave, Hot Springs, AR 71901

Historic Bathhouse Row — Navy outreach and STEM programming.

Free and metered lots downtown.

2.

Zion National Park

Local context — unverified
1 Zion Park Blvd, Springdale, UT 84767

Sailor engagement and stewardship programming.

Park shuttle system in peak season; Springdale lots.

3.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Local context — unverified
107 Park Headquarters Rd, Gatlinburg, TN 37738

Most-visited U.S. national park — community outreach.

Free visitor center lots; parking tags required.

4.

Olympic National Park

Local context — unverified
3002 Mount Angeles Rd, Port Angeles, WA 98362

Pacific Northwest stewardship and STEM events.

Free visitor center lot.

5.

Mesa Verde National Park

Local context — unverified
Mesa Verde National Park, CO 81330

Ancestral Puebloan heritage — educational outreach.

Free visitor and research center lot.

6.

Everglades National Park

Local context — unverified
40001 State Road 9336, Homestead, FL 33034

Coastal ecosystem stewardship programming.

Free visitor center lots.

7.

Cuyahoga Valley National Park

Local context — unverified
15610 Vaughn Rd, Brecksville, OH 44141

STEM and community engagement near Cleveland/Akron.

Free trailhead and visitor center lots.

8.

National Mall and Memorial Parks

Local context — unverified
900 Ohio Dr SW, Washington, DC 20024

Near the U.S. Navy Memorial — naval-heritage programming.

Limited paid street parking; Metro strongly recommended.

Parking & Getting There

Local context — unverified

Most participating national parks offer free or low-cost parking at visitor centers; some (Zion, Great Smoky Mountains) use shuttle or parking-tag systems in peak season. For the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Metro is strongly recommended. Check nps.gov for site-specific guidance.

Cost

Free. All Navy outreach during National Park Week was free. NPS fee-free days during National Park Week waived entrance fees at the 100+ parks that normally charge.

Local Military Context

The Navy's 250-year history is preserved in numerous national parks. The Continental Navy was established October 13, 1775, and Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Civil War, and WWII sites across the NPS system tell the Navy's story.

Military veterans and Gold Star families already receive free lifetime passes to national parks. The "Road Trip to 250" concept aligns perfectly with a nationwide NPS format — Sailors visiting places that preserve the founding story while celebrating dual 250th anniversaries.

Navy Assets & Units

  • NAVCO teams deployed to national parks across the country
  • Interactive STEM exhibits
  • Navy Band performances at selected parks
  • Sailor engagement at naval heritage sites

FAQ — NAVY WEEK NATIONAL PARKS

The first-ever nationwide-format Navy Week ran April 20–26, 2026, coinciding with the National Park Service's National Park Week.

Participating sites for 2026 included Hot Springs, Zion, Great Smoky Mountains, Olympic, Mesa Verde, Everglades, and Cuyahoga Valley National Parks, plus the National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C. Check the NAVCO and NPS sites for the complete list.

Yes. Navy outreach was free at every participating park. Fee-free days during National Park Week also waived NPS entrance fees at parks that normally charge.

Yes. This was the first time in Navy Week's 20+ year history that a Navy Week was distributed nationwide across multiple parks rather than centered on a single city.

The 2026 Navy Week parks span the country — from Hot Springs and Mesa Verde to the Everglades and Cuyahoga Valley. In Washington, D.C., the National Mall and Memorial Parks sit near the U.S. Navy Memorial, and the Navy's 250-year history connects to NPS sites nationwide.

MORE NAVY WEEK 2026 CITIES

// Researching the Navy itself?

U.S. NAVY REFERENCE

Beyond National Parks Navy Week, our reference library covers the service behind the outreach — bases, ranks, officer designators, enlisted ratings, and veteran benefits.

Previous StopLexingtonApr 06 – 12, 2026
Next StopCharlotteMay 03 – 10, 2026