Monday is Great American Outdoors Day, which at the very least merits a stroll around your neighborhood. It also marks one of eight “fee free” days offered by the National Park Service, meaning you can get into parks and other sites for free.

“One of the things I enjoy about fee free days is it’s a great reminder that national parks belong to all of us,” said Shannon McLucas, a park ranger based at Fort McHenry. “It gives people an opportunity to come out and enjoy the parks no matter what their circumstances are.”

The day celebrates the 2020 Great American Outdoors Act, which aimed to “improve infrastructure and expand recreation opportunities” in national parks, according to the National Park Service.

The act is helping to fuel the preservation of Hampton National Historic Site in Towson, where construction will likely begin sometime this fall, McLucas said.

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Maryland has several NPS historic sites and parks that will offer free entry to visitors on Monday. Other fees, including overnight camping and cabin rentals, will still apply.

Below are some of the parks in our region that will be waiving entrance fees for Great American Outdoors Day.

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Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine

  • 2400 E. Fort Ave., Baltimore
  • Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Monday
  • Standard entrance fee: $15 per ticket

The monument served as a defensive fort during the Battle of Baltimore in 1814 and inspired the lyrics to Francis Scott Key’s “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which became the national anthem. The fort marked its 100th anniversary as a national park earlier this year.

On Monday, expect the daily morning and afternoon flag changes.

Antietam National Battlefield

  • 5831 Dunker Church Road, Sharpsburg
  • Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Monday
  • Standard entrance fee: $10 per person

Known as the “bloodiest day in American history,” the Battle of Antietam took place in 1862 and ultimately led Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. The battlefield also became the site of controversy last year as lawmakers sought to remove a Confederate monument from its premises.

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Assateague Island

  • 7206 National Seashore Lane, Berlin
  • Open all day Monday
  • Standard entrance fee: $25 per vehicle

Visitors to the seashore can expect coastal bays, beaches and salt marshes. They might even catch a dance performance.

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

  • 171 Shoreline Drive, Harpers Ferry
  • Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Monday
  • Standard entrance fee: $10 per person

The park lies where the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers merge. Miles of trails cross through Civil War battlefields and other historical monuments.

Every Monday until late October this year, the park hosts an hour-long talk about its John Brown monuments, where abolitionist John Brown was captured by U.S. Marines in 1859.

Chesapeake and Ohio National Historical Park

  • 142 W. Potomac St., Williamsport
  • Open sunrise to sunset on Monday
  • Standard entrance fee: $10 per person

The canal operated for nearly 100 years during the 19th century and was a lifeline for people living along the Potomac River, according to the NPS.

The exceptions

Some Maryland parks are excluded from Monday’s discounts because they are already free, like Fort Washington or Glen Echo, or because they are closed on Monday, like the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historic Park in Church Creek.

The next fee-free days at national parks this year will be Sept. 27 for National Public Lands Day, and Oct. 12 for National Wildlife Refuge Week, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior.