MLK Jr Day Will be Observed on Monday, Jan. 19,

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday falls on the third Monday in January each year and is designed to honor the slain civil rights leader’s birthday on Jan. 15, 1929. This year, the MLK Jr Day will be observed on Monday, Jan. 19.

MLK Day 2026 brings one major change.

President Donald Trump rescinded fee-free days at national parks for Martin Luther King Jr. Day as well as Juneteenth, according to the Asbury Park Press. The publication notes that the president cannot remove those days as federal holidays from the calendar but can change the way they are administered at the federal level.

“Beginning Jan. 1, 2026, the annual pass will cost $80 for U.S. residents and $250 for nonresidents, ensuring that American taxpayers who already support the National Park System receive the greatest benefit,” according to a news release from the Department of the Interior. Nonresidents without an annual pass will pay a $100 per person fee to enter 11 of the most visited national parks, in addition to the standard entrance fee.”

MLK Day and Juneteenth have been removed from the interior department’s list of eight fee-free days:

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday, meaning that banks, post offices and federal offices will be closed. The stock market will also be closed in observance of the holiday. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is one of 12 federal holidays in 2026, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.

 

 

Image Sources

  • Martin Luther King Jr.: Pixaby