Are you looking for a great excuse to skip work and head outside? Well, we have you covered with this exhaustive list of outdoor and nature holidays. No matter what you are interested in there is probably a holiday for it. So what are you waiting for? Find your favorite holiday on the list, get out, and start celebrating!
Note: We have updated this list for 2023. It is currently very USA oriented but we want to fix that soon. I’ll be updating this every year and adding as many international holidays as possible. So if you know of a holiday that isn’t on this list, even if it’s already passed, please leave a comment below. Our goal is to eventually include every holiday in the world that is outdoor or nature themed, or is normally celebrated outdoors.
National Park Free Entrance Days
Every year the American National Park Service waives its entrance fees for a few Holidays and special anniversaries. The days for 2023 are listed below and you can learn more by visiting this National Park Service page.
- January 16th: Martin Luther King Jr’s Birthday
- April 22nd: First day of National Park Week
- August 4th: Anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act
- September 23rd: National Public Lands Day
- November 11th: Veterans Day
January
- January 1st: First Day Hikes
- January 2nd: Happy Mew Year For Cats Day
- January 5th: National Bird Day
- January 7th: National Play Outside Day
- January 10th: Save the Eagles Day
- January 11th: National Step in a Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day
- January 14th: National Dress Up Your Pet Day
- January 20th: Penguin Awareness Day
- January 22nd: Chinese New Year
- January 22nd: National Answer Your Cat’s Questions Day
- January 31st: International Zebra Day
February
- February 2nd: World Wetlands Day
- February 2nd: National Hedgehog Day
- February 2nd: National Marmot Day
- February 5th: National Play Outside Day
- February 5th: Western Monarch Day
- February 9th: International Snowmobile Ride Day
- February 14th: World Bonobo Day
- February 15th: World Hippo Day
- February 17th through February 20th: Great Backyard Bird Count
- February 18th: World Pangolin Day
- February 19th: World Whale Day
- February 20th - 26th: National Invasive Species Awareness Week
- February 22nd: National Walking the Dog Day
- February 24th - 27th: Whooping Crane Festival
March
- March 1st: National Horse Protection Day
- March 1st: National Pig Day
- March 3rd: World Wildlife Day
- March 3rd - 5th: Festival of Owls Week - Houston, MN
- March 4th: Iditarod Sled Dog Race
- March 5th: National Play Outside Day
- March 9th: National American Paddlefish Day
- March 11th: National Johnny Appleseed Day
- March 11th: Key Deer Awareness Day
- March 13th: National Day of Unplugging
- March 14th: National Learn About Butterflies Day
- March 14th: International Day of Action for Rivers
- March 19th: National Backyard Day
- March 20th: World Rewilding Day
- March 21st: International Day of Forests
- March 21st: World Wood Day
- March 22nd: World Water Day
- March 23rd: National Puppy Day
- March 29th: Manatee Appreciation Day
- March 30th: National Take a Walk In the Park Day
April
- April 2nd: National Ferret Day
- April 2nd: National Play Outside Day
- April 3rd: National Find a Rainbow Day
- April 3rd: World Aquatic Animal Day
- April 8th: National Zoo Lovers Day
- April 10th: National Farm Animals Day
- April 11th: National Pet Day
- April 14th: National Look At The Sky Day
- April 14th: National Dolphin Day
- April 17th: International Bat Appreciation Day
- April 22nd through April 30th: National Park Week
- April 22nd: Earth Day
- April 22nd: Celebrate Trails Day
- April 23rd: NPS National Junior Ranger Day
- April 23rd: National Picnic Day
- April 26th: National Audobon Day
- April 26th: National Help a Horse Day
- April 28th: National Arbor Day
- April 30th: National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day
- April 30th: National Pet Parents Day
May
- First Week of May: National Wildflower Week
- May 3rd: National Specially-Abled Pets Day
- May 4th: Bird Day
- May 6th: National Play Outside Day
- May 6th: Start Seeing Monarchs Day
- May 13th: World Migratory Bird Day
- May 13th: National Dog Moms Day
- May 13th: National Archery Day
- May 16th: National Love a Tree Day
- May 19th: National Endangered Species Day
- May 19th: National Bike to Work Day
- May 19th: Endangered Species Day
- May 20th: World Bee Day
- May 20th: Kids to Parks Day
- May 20th: National Rescue Dog Day
- May 20th: National Learn to Swim Day
- May 22nd: International Day for Biological Diversity
- May 24th: National Scavenger Hunt Day
- May 24th: European Day of Parks
- May 26th: National Road Trip Day
- May 29th: Memorial Day
- May 30th: National Water a Flower Day
June
- June: Great Outdoors Month
- June: National Pollinator Month
- June 1st: World Reef Day
- June 3rd: National Trails Day
- June 3rd: National Play Outside Day
- June 3rd: National Black Bear Day
- June 3rd: National Prairie Day
- June 4th: National Hug Your Cat Day
- June 5th: World Environment Day
- June 7th: National Daniel Boone Day
- June 8th: World Ocean Day
- June 11th: National Get Outdoors Day
- June 15th: Global Wind Day
- June 15th: Nature Photography Day
- June 17th: World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
- June 18th: National Get Away Day
- June 18th: National Go Fishing Day
- June 20th: National American Eagle Day
- June 21st: Summer Solstice
- June 21st: Go Skateboarding Day
- June 22nd: World Rainforest Day
- June 25th: National Catfish Day
- June 26th: National Canoe Day
- June 28th: National Paul Bunyan Day
July
- July 1st: National Play Outside Day
- July 1st: National Hop-a-Park Day
- July 4th: American Independence Day
- July 7th: National Father Daughter Take a Walk Day
- July 10th: through July 16th: National Forest Week
- July 10th: National Kitten Day
- July 11th: Cow Appreciation Day
- July 15th: National I Love Horses Day
- July 26th: International Day for the Conservation of the Mangrove Ecosystems
- July 28th: World Nature Conservation Day
August
- August 5th: National Campfire Day and Night
- August 5th: National Play Outside Day
- August 8th: National Sneak Some Zucchini Into Your Neighbor’s Porch Day
- August 19th: National Honey Bee Day
- August 25th: National Parks Service Birthday
- August 26th: National Dog Day
September
- September 1st: International Primate Day
- September 4th: National Wildlife Day
- September 4th through 8th: Zero Waste Week
- September 5th: Amazon Day
- September 7th: International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies
- September 10th: National Hug Your Hound Day
- September 16th: Responsible Dog Ownership Day
- September 16th: World Cleanup Day
- September 16th: International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer
- September 18th: World Water Monitoring Day
- September 21st: Zero Emissions Day
- September 22nd: National Elephant Appreciation Day
- September 23rd: National Public Lands Day
- September 23rd: National Dogs in Politics Day
- September 23rd: National Hunting and Fishing Day
- September 23rd: National Public Lands Day
- September 24th: World Rivers Day
- September 26th: National Johnny Appleseed Day
- September 27th: World Tourism Day
- September 29th: Urban National Wildlife Refuge Day
- September 30th: National Ghost Hunting Day
October
- October 1st: National Black Dog Day
- October 1st: National Fire Pup Day
- October 1st: National Green City Day
- October 4th: National Walk to School Day
- October 10th: National Walk to a Park Day
- October 14th: World Migratory Bird Day
- October 22nd: National Make a Dog’s Day
- October 27th: National Black Cat Day
- October 29th: National Cat Day
- October 31st: Halloween
November
- November 4th: National Play Outside Day
- November 4th: National Bison Day
- November 6th: Opt Outside Day
- November 17th: National Take a Hike Day
December
- December 2nd: National Play Outside Day
- December 2nd: National Mutt Day
- December 11th: International Mountain Day
- December 20th: Go Caroling Day
- December 21st: Winter Solstice
Conclusion
There you have it, our ultimate list of outdoor and nature holidays. We knew that there were a lot of these holidays but the size of this list is still impressive. When we started I expected to find maybe half this many. We lost count of how many there are here but you shouldn’t have any trouble finding a few excuses a month to get outdoors. Of course, we can’t guarantee that your boss will let you off work for National Bison Day or National Find a Rainbow Day you might as well ask. What’s the worst that could happen?
Please leave a comment below letting us know which one is your favorite outdoor or nature themed holiday. I think that ours has to be Sneak Some Zucchini Into Your Neighbors’ Porch day. It’s so silly.
