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April isn't exactly prime time for our northwest national parks, but it is a time when you can see them all for free.

For four days this month - April 15, 16, 22 and 23 - the National park service will offer free entrance into all national park sites around the country. Camping and other reservation fees will still apply, but when it comes to seeing our nation's natural wonders, you really can't beat free entry.

The fee-free days are being offered in honor of National Park Week, which runs from April 15 to 23. They are four of a total 10 free days offered in 2017.

In Oregon, that means free entrance at Crater Lake and Lewis and Clark National Historical Park - the only two national park sites here that charge admission. Washington has three parks that will waive fees: Olympic, Mount Rainier and Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.

You can also visit Cascadia's farther-flung national parks, like Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Glacier and Glacier Bay National Parks, which will waive their usual entrance fees.

The ongoing promotion might be one component of the national parks' record-setting visitation numbers in 2016, which were particularly big in the Pacific Northwest, and could continue into 2017.

--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB