This is it, people. Last chance for free admission to national parks like Assateague Island National Seashore, Antietam National Battlefield, Fort McHenry National Monument and 147 other parks that charge an entrance fee. (Some 250 others are already free.)
President Barack Obama and his family are taking advantage of the freebie with a visit this weekend to the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone Park.
Spokesman Robert Gibbs said the trip is meant to encourage people to visit the national park system.
The National Park Service launched the "fee-free" weekends program in June in hopes of giving families a budget break and also increasing traffic to some of our national treasures. But a story in Friday's Washington Post said that while visits are up modestly, the offer is having little impact on sales and lodging at the nation's parks.
