Academic Fee Waiver

National Park Service regulations allow school groups and other approved national and international academic institutions to obtain a waiver of Park entrance fees, provided that visit is for educational or scientific purposes, and the resources or facilities that the group intends to use, support those purposes.

Applicant groups must demonstrate that they meet three requirements to qualify for an academic fee waiver: eligibility, educational purpose, and relevancy of Park resources or facilities.

Eligibility: Applicants must prove they are an academic or scientific institution.

Educational purpose: Applicants must provide a written statement confirming that the Park visit supports a specific curriculum for which academic credit is offered.

Relevance: Applicants must provide a written explanation identifying the Park resources and/or facilities that will be used and how those resources are relevant to support the educational purpose.

Academic fee waivers are granted only if the above three criteria are met. Fee waiver requests for recreational activities such as hiking or camping that are not part of a curriculum or course study do not meet the criteria.

 

To request an academic fee waiver:

Mail or email (pdf file) an academic fee waiver request at least two weeks in advance of your planned visit.

1. Download the Education Reservation Request Form (391 kb).

2. Fill out Section 1, Section 2 and Section 5. You do not need to fill out sections 3-4.

3. Send your request to the Shenandoah National Park Fee Office:
   Email: [e-mail] (email us)
   or
   Mail: Fee Office
   Shenandoah National Park
   3655 U.S. Highway 211 East
   Luray, VA 22835
   Attn: Academic Fee Waiver Request