Gov. DeSantis: Free passes to state parks Memorial Day weekend

Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to kick off summer with some freebies. Over Memorial Day weekend, entrance fees to Florida state parks will be waived, he said Tuesday.

Fees for state parks will be waived May 25-28. The move will help Floridians and visitors ring in the summer season and boost tourism, he said.

“Part of the reason I think people have come to Florida is we have the best beaches, we have the best fishing, and we have the best state parks,” DeSantis told reporters at an event in Naples.

DeSantis also said he’ll approve the $15 million in additional funding for state parks included in the budget passed by the Legislature, bringing the total funding to $187.2 million. The budget (HB 5001) for the fiscal year that begins July 1 and related bills haven’t been formally sent to his desk, however.

Florida has 175 state parks with 1,042 approved positions in the upcoming budget to staff them. DeSantis said lawmakers and he have approved $440 million for state parks since he took office in 2019.

Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Shawn Hamilton, whose agency oversees the state parks, was on hand for the announcement and said enjoying parks is crucial to realizing the importance of conserving Florida’s natural resources.

“I can’t think of a better way to connect this current generation and future generations to that important mission than getting out into the real Florida,” Hamilton said. “There’s nothing like it.”

Hamilton said the parks welcomed 29 million visitors last year and had $3.6 billion in economic impact.

DeSantis also teased an announcement on red snapper season later on Tuesday. He has a press conference in Tampa scheduled for later in the day. In previous years he’s extended the season for red snapper fishing. Last year, for instance, he expanded the season, which typically runs from September through part of November, by 17 days.