2026 Free Days at Museums, Zoo, Parks, and More in Colorado

Updated December 31, 2025

Originally published December 21, 2025

Want to save some cash in 2026? Not only are there many free activities and events that happen throughout the state throughout the year, did you know that there are certain days that museums and institutions as well as national and state parks waive admission?!?! Dive in to find out where and when!

Denver Art Museum

Free Day at the Denver Art Museum (DAM): engage with art, explore onsite activities, and experience exhibitions on view all while enjoying free general admission! Free Days include access to the entire Denver Art Museum campus, including the Hamilton Building, Martin Building, and The Kirkland. Learn more about the Denver Art Museum.

Denver Botanic Gardens

Denver Botanic Gardens’ mission is to connect people with plants, especially plants from the Rocky Mountain region and similar regions around the world, providing delight and enlightenment for everyone. The Gardens extends to three unique locations:

• 1) York Street, the 24-acre main location, includes indoor and outdoor plant displays, a green roof children’s garden, an herbarium, a library, lecture halls and classrooms. Plant displays feature over 32,500 species of plants in 45 gardens. The gardens feature plants from over 30 countries with arid climates similar to that of Colorado.
• 2) Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield Farms encompasses 700 acres of open space southwest of Denver in one of the country’s fastest growing suburban areas. It offers nature trails, educational exhibits, a historical farm and schoolhouse and 50 acres of wetland and riparian communities. The site has an agriculture program that grows produce for members of the CSA (community supported agriculture) program and residents in food desert communities as part of the Urban Food Initiatives outreach.
• 3) Mount Goliath Alpine Trail presents an interpretive high-altitude trail and alpine garden, as well as a nature center located along the Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway. Mount Goliath is managed in partnership with the USDA Forest Service and is the highest rock alpine garden in the world.
• Additionally, the Gardens manages education programs at Plains Conservation Center in Aurora.

2026 Free Admission at the Denver Botanic Gardens – York Street and Chatfield Farms

1007 York St, Denver, CO 80206 | 8500 W Deer Creek Canyon Rd, Littleton, CO 80128

Free Days are for regular Gardens hours only and do not include ticketed events. Tickets will be available three months at a time (on a rolling basis) and the tickets will be released on the 1st of the month. This event will sell out; please get your tickets in advance. No onsite tickets available for sold out days. 

Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS)

Denver Museum of Nature & Science’s Mission statement: Be a catalyst! Ignite our community’s passion for nature and science. On the following days, there is free access to the Wildlife Halls or the permanent exhibitions with no tickets or advanced registration required. A separate paid ticket is required if you’d like to visit the planetarium or temporary exhibitions.

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is open every day except Christmas, from 9 AM to 5 PM

Joy Park @ Children’s Museum of Denver Marisco Campus

Joy Park is an outdoor exhibit at the Children’s Museum. The spectacular 30,000 sq. ft. space features fun, interactive snapshots of different Colorado locations – sand dunes, a river, climbing structures and a zip line.

Joy Park is open for free from 4:30 – 8 pm (or sunset) the third Friday of the month, May – September. Aside from the restrooms, the inside of the Museum is closed. 

Free nights are first-come, first-served; reservations are not available.

And More SCFD Free Days

Organizations from across the metro area provide hundreds of free days and free programs each year made possible, in part, by funding from SCFD (Scientific and Cultural Facilities District). SCFD is the only cultural funding model in the nation that serves a region of seven counties. These tax dollars fund nearly 300 organizations across our front-range urban corridor, distributing more than $80 million annually

Some organizations are free every day such as Broomfield Veterans Museum, City of Lakewood Art Exhibitions, Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park, Foothills Art Center, Colorado Music Hall of Fame, The Aurora History Museum, Depot Art Gallery, and Louisville History Museum!

Check out the full list of SCFD’s free days at their official site here

National Parks

Did you know that Colorado has four National Parks?

While most are familiar with Rocky Mountain National Park, there’s also Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Great Sand Dunes and Mesa Verde! All National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee will offer free admission to *everyone effective January 1, 2026 only US citizens and residents. Note that other fees, including timed entry or reservation fees, may apply.

When planning a visit to a national park, check if you need a reservation. Some national parks use a timed entry system to manage vehicle traffic. Other parks use tour reservations to manage access to a building or natural feature. Reservations are typically made available through recreation.gov  on a rolling basis. If you need a reservation, it is recommend to make it well in advance.

Colorado State Parks

And we have even more state parks! There are currently forty-two Colorado state parks, with forty-one of them open to the public. The other, Lone Mesa, is currently only for hunting use by special permit.  To celebrate Colorado Day (the first Monday in August), you can visit any state park for free.

• Saturday, August 1, 2026