A rare offer: Park for free

Turn your car north at Rockfish Gap onto the Skyline Drive, and pay $10-$15.

Turn south onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, and pay … nothing.

The two parks, which meet at Rock-fish Gap near Afton, have different pricing policies.

But for a few days this summer, visitors can enter the Skyline Drive and Shenandoah National Park for free, too.

The National Park Service is seeking to encourage visitation with three free weekends: June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16.

The price cuts do not apply to cabin or camp rentals, tours or concessions. They do apply to every one of the system’s 391 national parks.

Visitation to the parks has been down in recent years, due to factors ranging from the high cost of gasoline to a possible shift in Americans’ leisure habits from nature activities to electronic entertainment.

It’s not that the Park Service doesn’t need the revenue.  Studies year after year show a decline in maintenance of trails, cabins, roads and other facilities, due to budget shortages.

But officials know that if visitorship continues to drop, even less revenue will be coming in. So three free weekends are a downpayment on future support, an effort to get people back in the parks and appreciating them.

Whatever the reason, we’re appreciative of the gesture.

If you’re in the habit of turning south to save a little money on the Blue Ridge Parkway, here’s your chance to become reacquainted with the Skyline Drive.