National Park Entrance Fees Are Funding Trump's D.C. Projects

Source: New York Times

Times Exclusive

National Park Entrance Fees Are Funding Trump's D.C. Projects

The administration is spending at least $67 million worth of fees paid by visitors to national parks on fixing D.C. fountains and the Reflecting Pool.


The National Park Service is spending millions in fees paid by visitors to parks across the country, like Yosemite National Park in California, to pay for restoration of nine ornamental fountains in Washington, D.C. Bront Wittpenn/San Francisco Chronicle, via Associated Press

By Maxine Joselow and Andrea Fuller
Maxine Joselow reported from Washington, and Andrea Fuller from New York.
May 27, 2026
Updated 1:09 p.m. ET

The National Park Service is using at least $67 million worth of park entrance fees to help fund President Trump's beautification projects in Washington, according to a New York Times analysis of federal records.

Nearly $60 million in fees paid by visitors to national parks across the country is funding repairs to nine of the capital's ornamental fountains, the analysis found. The government is putting another $7 million worth of entrance fees toward the renovation of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which costs $13.1 million overall, according to an internal Park Service document reviewed by The Times.

The analysis was based on a federal contracting database. The $7 million for the Reflecting Pool has not previously been reported. ... Mr. Trump has proposed a host of initiatives to remake Washington in his own style and wants these projects completed by July 4, the 250th anniversary of American independence.

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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/climate/park-service-fees-washington-trump.html