Which National Park Pass Should You Get?

There are several different National Park Service passes that enable admittance to not only the National Parks, but National Monuments, National Historic Parks, National Battlefields and other National facilities such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Preserves as well.

Our purpose of the sharing this blog is to provide valuable National Park Pass information to save you some bucks at the entrance.

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Which National Park Pass Should You Get?

Annual Pass

The National Park America the Beautiful Annual Pass is valid for one full year from month of purchase (through last day of that month).

This pass allows pass owner and accompanying passengers in a single, private, non-commercial vehicle to enter Federally operated recreation sites across the country. The National Park America the Beautiful Annual Pass covers the pass owner and three (3) accompanying adults age 16 and older at sites where per person entrance fees are charged. No entry fee charged for children 15 and under.

Lifetime and Annual Senior Pass

The National Park America the Beautiful Lifetime Senior Pass is for U.S. citizens or permanent residents age 62 or over. There is a one-time charge is $80 for the pass that permits free entrance for life.

The National Park America the Beautiful Annual Senior Pass is for U.S. citizens or permanent residents age 62 or over. Its valid for one full year from month of purchase (through last day of that month).

The cost of obtaining an Annual Senior Pass through the mail is thirty $30. Applicants must provide documentation of age and residency or citizenship.

Blogger’s Note: Golden Access and Golden Age Passports are no longer sold. However, the National Park Service will continue to accept those passes according to the provisions of the pass.

Active Duty Military Pass

The National Park America the Beautiful Active Duty Military National Park Pass is available to Current US military members and the dependents of deployed military in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard, as well as most members of the Current US Reserves and National Guard.

To apply, you will need a current military ID (CAC Card or DoD Form 1173).

Access Pass

A free, lifetimeNational Park America the Beautiful Access Pass is available to U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States and have a permanent medical disability (does not have to be a 100% disability and must have proper documentation).

The cost of obtaining an Access Pass through the USGS currently is $10 for processing the application. Applicants must provide documentation proof of residency and documentation of permanent disability.

Volunteer Pass

You can accrue 250 hours by volunteering on Federal recreation lands managed by one or all of five agencies – NPS, BLM, USDA FS, FWS, and Reclamation and earn the Volunteer Pass. The National Park America the Beautiful Volunteer National Park Pass is not permanent.

For every 250 volunteer hours, pass hours are reset to zero and term begins again. The pass is valid for 12 months from the month of issuance. The pass expire expires the last day of that month the following year.

Fourth Grader’s Pass

The National Park America the Beautiful Fourth Grade Pass allows free admission at sites that charge Entrance or Standard Amenity fees (Day use fees) for one full year (September through August of the student’s 4th grade year).

Only U.S. fourth grade students (including home-schooled and free-choice learners 10 years of age) with a printed voucher from the Every Kid in a Park website. Students may not receive a pass without a valid voucher.

Using your National Park Pass

There are some parks that don’t enlist an entrance fee. However, those that do, the pass holder must present their pass upon check-in. National Park Service parks and lands that do charge can be seen here.

It’s up to the National Park visitor whether or not they should get a National Park America the Beautiful pass; depending on how many they will visit per year.

But if you plan on visiting several, buying or procuring a pass would be most advantageous financially. It would save time at the entrance gate not having to fumble for cash or wait for your credit card transaction which holds up those behind you.

Protect your National Park Pass

Your National Park America the Beautiful pass and entrance into our National Parks, Monuments, Battlefields, Historical Sites and Landmarks is a privilege.

If you lose your National Park pass, you will be have to pay for a replacement. Also, we suggest reporting your lost pass to the NPS so they can alleviate fraud or illegal entrance.

We hope this better explains what each National Park America the Beautiful Pass is and qualification requirements.

And lastly, we highly encourage supporting our National Parks at the visitor center donation box. Even if it’s just a couple dollars, your donation is highly appreciated to ensure further progress of our National Parks and all of the parks thereof.

Click for more information on the National Park Service Passes.

2 Replies to “Which National Park Pass Should You Get?”

kathy thomas says:
July 7, 2018 at 8:10 am
Thanks, Lisa for the “legwork” finding this info. It was really helpful.
1. alwaysonliberty says:
  July 8, 2018 at 9:29 pm
  Kathy, thanks for reading! We’re glad it helped in finding which pass applies to you. We hope you enjoy all of the National Parks and sites you can. Consider getting the National Park Passport so you can stamp all the places you’ve been to! -Dan & Lisa