Consider it your free national parks pass: On Monday, Nov. 11, all national parks across the nation will be free to enter, including California destinations like Yosemite, Muir Woods and Joshua Tree.

Every Park Service site that usually charges an entrance fee will offer free admission to all visitors as part of NPS’ Free Day program.

This last free National Parks day of 2019 also marks Veterans Day.

In addition to the role national parks play in preserving the nation’s military history through memorials and monuments, several of the parks also have direct connections to America’s military — from battlefields to military parks and historic sites.

On Veterans Day, Yosemite National Park will honor the “Buffalo Soldiers” — the African American U.S. Army regiment members who acted as the park’s first rangers after the Civil War.

The U.S. Army served as the official administrator of Yosemite and Sequoia national parks between 1891 and 1913, and according to NPS, over 500 Black servicemembers enacted a wide range of ranger duties in these two locations, including fighting forest fires.

For more history on the Buffalo Soldiers, read our 2014 interview with modern-day Yosemite ranger Shelton Johnson, who's dedicated his career to raising awareness of their role in America's history.