The National Parks Service wants you to visit Rocky Mountain National Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado National Monument and your other National Parks and Monuments for free this weekend, August 15-16. The park service also had a free weekend in June and July.

"During these tough economic times, our national parks provide opportunities for affordable vacations for families," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said at a news conference at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. "I encourage everyone to visit one of our nation's crown jewels this summer and especially to take advantage of the three free-admission weekends."

For a list of National parks and monuments in Colorado, visit the National parks Web site.

So what's the catch? Parks and monuments will still charge fees for camping, reservations, tours and concessions.

The U.S. Forest Service locations that charge a fee are not included in this deal. There was a problem at the Brainard Lake Recreation Area near Nederland in June on free weekend when some people got upset that they had to pay.

The free weekends will mean a loss of an estimated half-million dollars a day from entrance fees. Officials hope the lost revenue will be more than offset by an increase in park tourism.

If you go to Rocky Mountain National Park and need some trail ideas, I just happen to write a blog about hiking. Here are my trip reports for: Granite Falls, Twin Sisters, Bierstadt Lake, Chasm Lake, Lulu City & Little Yellowstone, The Loch & Andrew's Glacier, Sandbeach Lake, Finch & Pear Lakes, Calypso Cascades & Ouzel Falls, Flattop Mountain and Gem Lake.

If you have a tip, E-mail me Deb Stanley (Deb_Stanley@kmgh.com).

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