Event · Family Traditions
Opt Outside Day
The day after Thanksgiving, millions of American families skip the shopping crowds and head outside instead. Opt Outside Day is a growing annual tradition that turns Black Friday into a celebration of trails, parks, and fresh air — and it is easier to plan than you might think.
This page from Outside, the family adventure app, covers Opt Outside Day, the annual tradition held on the Friday after Thanksgiving when families choose outdoor recreation over holiday shopping. It explains the origins of the movement, how national and state parks participate, and how families with children ages 4 to 14 can plan a full weekend of outdoor adventure around the event. The page includes planning tips, packing guidance, and a FAQ section answering common questions about park access and fees.
| Cost | Free to participate; some park fees may apply |
|---|---|
| When | Friday after Thanksgiving, annually |
| Region | Nationwide |
| Season | Late fall (November) |
| Best for ages | 4 to 14 |
What Opt Outside Day is
Every year on the Friday after Thanksgiving, a growing movement invites Americans to trade shopping carts for hiking boots. The idea is simple: instead of spending Black Friday in a store, spend it outside.
The tradition gained momentum in 2015 when outdoor retailer REI made the decision to close all of its stores on Black Friday and pay employees to go outside instead. The campaign caught on fast. Today, hundreds of organizations, businesses, and parks across the country mark the day by opening their gates, waiving fees, or hosting family-friendly events.
Opt Outside is not a federal holiday and it is not tied to a single organization. It is a shared idea that has grown into one of the most feel-good annual traditions on the outdoor calendar.
When it happens every year
Opt Outside Day always falls on the Friday immediately after Thanksgiving, which means the date shifts from year to year but the placement on the calendar never does. In the United States, Thanksgiving is the fourth Thursday of November, so Opt Outside lands somewhere between November 23 and November 29 depending on the year.
Many families extend the tradition across the whole long weekend, treating Saturday and Sunday as continuation days. Some even build a short camping trip or a series of hikes around all four days. If your family is going to take one outdoor weekend seriously this fall, this is the one worth planning ahead for.
How families take part
There is no registration, no fee, and no official check-in. You simply go outside. That said, a little planning makes the experience feel intentional rather than accidental.
Common ways families participate:
- Hike a trail none of you have walked before - Visit a national park, national forest, or state park that offers free or reduced admission on the day - Take a sunrise walk before a big family breakfast - Pick up a Junior Ranger booklet at a visitor center and work through it together - Photograph every bird, track, or tree you cannot identify and look them up later
The goal is presence, not performance. A two-mile loop with a four-year-old counts just as much as a ten-mile ridge walk with teenagers.
Park access and fees on the day
The National Park Service runs its own free entrance days each year, and at least one of them typically falls in the late fall, though the exact dates are confirmed annually on the NPS website. It is worth checking nps.gov in October to see whether a fee-free day lines up with your Opt Outside weekend.
Many state parks also participate independently, either by waiving day-use fees or hosting guided family walks. Check your state's parks department website in the week before Thanksgiving. Some parks see significantly higher traffic on this particular Friday than on a typical late-November day, so arriving early and having a backup location in mind is practical thinking, not pessimism.
Planning a family weekend around it
The long Thanksgiving weekend is one of the best natural windows in the year to build a real outdoor tradition. Here is a loose framework that works for most families.
**Thursday:** Thanksgiving at home or with family. Pack gear in the evening so Friday morning starts without friction.
**Friday (Opt Outside Day):** Lead with your biggest adventure. A new trail, a park you have never visited, or a destination that takes a little driving. Picnic lunch outside even if it is cold.
**Saturday:** Shorter, slower. A neighborhood walk, a nature scavenger hunt, or an afternoon at a local nature center.
**Sunday:** Rest and reflect. Pull out the trail maps, look up what you saw, and let the kids draw or write about one moment from the weekend.
Building this rhythm even loosely gives kids something to anticipate every November, and that anticipation is how family traditions actually take root.
What to bring for late November
Late November outdoor weather varies widely across the country. A family in Arizona is facing something very different from a family in Minnesota. The universal truth is that conditions can shift fast in the fall, so layering is the right strategy regardless of your region.
A practical packing list for any Opt Outside outing:
- Wool or synthetic base layers for every person - A wind- and water-resistant outer layer - Warm hats and gloves for kids, who cool faster than adults - More snacks than you think you need - A paper trail map as a backup to your phone - A small first aid kit - Water for every person, even on cool days
Keep kid packs light. A child who is tired and overloaded stops wanting to be outside. Give them one small thing to carry and one job to do, like counting creek crossings or spotting animal tracks.
Write about one moment from this Opt Outside weekend when you stopped walking and just looked at something for a full minute. What did you notice that you would have missed if you had been moving?
Frequently asked questions
Is Opt Outside Day an official holiday or government program?
No. Opt Outside is a cultural movement, not an official holiday or government initiative. It started as a campaign by outdoor retailer REI in 2015 and has since grown into a broad, informal tradition that many parks, businesses, and families participate in on their own terms. There is no registration or central organization running it.
Are national parks free on Opt Outside Day?
Not automatically. The National Park Service designates several fee-free days each calendar year, and one sometimes falls near Thanksgiving, but it is not guaranteed to align with Black Friday every year. Check nps.gov each October for the current year's confirmed fee-free dates. Many state parks also offer free or reduced admission independently, so it is worth checking your state parks website as well.
What if the weather is bad where we live?
Dress for it and go anyway. A cold or overcast day on a trail is genuinely memorable in a way that a comfortable day indoors is not. Wind- and water-resistant layers, warm hats, and good snacks solve most late-November weather problems for kids. If conditions are truly severe, even a 30-minute walk in your own neighborhood with hot cocoa waiting at home counts. The tradition is about going outside, not about perfect conditions.
How do we make this feel like a real family tradition and not just a one-time thing?
Repetition and small rituals are what turn an outing into a tradition. Pick the same park or trail two years in a row so kids can notice what has changed. Take a photo in the same spot each year. Let a child pick the destination once they are old enough. Keep a simple log of where you went and what you saw. Over a few years these small habits become the thing kids remember and eventually pass on.