Do you love visiting national parks or hiking in national forests, but are sometimes discouraged by the required fees or the summer crowds? Go ahead, be a cheapskate and a curmudgeon. This is your weekend.

It's even more your weekend if you're a veteran, because this fee-free weekend on federal lands, Friday through Sunday, is in honor of Veterans Day.

What it means is that you can visit Mount Rainier National Park (photo above) or Olympic National Park without paying the usual $15-per-vehicle entry fee. You can also park at any trailhead in national forests without the customary $5 day pass or the annual $30 Northwest Forest Pass (note that campground fees still apply). Or visit Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge without paying the standard $3 fee.

The entry-fee waiver applies to lands under the management of the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation.

To learn more, see www.recreation.gov.

Brian J. Cantwell, Seattle Times travel staff