Free weekends at national parks this summer

You'll get free entry to Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and 144 other national parks on three weekends this summer: June 20-21, July 18-19 and Aug. 15-16. At Yosemite, that can save you $20 per car, or $10 per person if you arrive by foot, bicycle or motorcycle.

The offer was announced Tuesday by Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, who cited "these tough economic times."

Besides free entry, some concessionaires will give away $5 vouchers, free tours, boat rides, shopping bags or other extras. But don't expect to camp for free; the regular fees for that will still apply.

The National Park Service typically waives entry fees on National Public Lands Day (the last Saturday in September) and for military service people and veterans on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, said spokeswoman Kathy Kupper. She said she could not recall another time in her 20-plus years with the parks that fees had been waived for entire weekends for the public.

Many of the system's 391 parks never charge an entry fee. For details, visit the National Park Service Web site.