Hello fellow travel lovers! Today I wanted to chat about something that you may see me bring up from time to time in the future- The National Park Service Annual Pass.
I realize that this may be something that many people have never heard of, or have questions about, or want to hear about from someone who has purchased one. In this post, I will try to answer any questions I think you may have about the pass, and hopefully I can help you decide whether this is something that would be beneficial to you.
So, let’s get started!
What is the National Park Annual Pass?
This is a pass sold by the National Park Service that covers entrance fees into National Parks, as well as some other sites run by the NPS. So once you purchase the pass, you are able to provide the pass at any national park entrance and enter for free.
Where can I use/not use the Annual Pass?
This pass mainly helps with entrance fees, so let’s use Yosemite National Park as an example. At this national park, there is an entrance fee of $35 per vehicle. If you have the annual pass, you simply provide the pass at the park entrance, and you don’t have to pay the $35 entrance fee.
This pass does not really help for parks that do not have entrance fees. For example, my husband and I recently went to Mammoth Cave National Park. This park does not have an entrance fee. Instead, you enter free but are required to purchase tickets for tours, which is not something the annual pass covers. So in this situation, our Annual Pass didn’t really come in handy.
Here’s what the pass covers, according to the NPS website:
- Entrance fees at national parks
- Entrance fees at national wildlife refuges
- Standard amenity fees (day use fees) at national forests and grasslands.
- Standard amenity fees (day use fees) at lands managed by Bureau of Reclamation, BLM, or U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
If this is at a location that charges per vehicle, the driver and all passengers of the vehicle are covered.
If this is at a location that charges per person, up to 4 adults are covered. (Kids under 15 are allowed to enter for free)
The pass typically won’t cover special fees such as camping, boat fees, etc.
How much does the Annual Pass cost?
The Annual Pass is currently $80. This is a yearly fee, but does not automatically renew. This means that once your pass expires (after 12 months), you will have to purchase a new one, rather than one being automatically sent to you.
There are other types of passes available at different price points that certain people may qualify for, which we will talk about in a bit.
Does everyone in my family need a pass?
In most cases, no. If you and your family can all fit in one vehicle, you should only need one pass, as this will cover your entire vehicle at ‘pay per vehicle’ locations, and cover up to 4 adults(16 or older) at ‘pay per person’ locations.
If you have a very large family and will be traveling in multiple vehicles to a park with an entrance fee, multiple passes might be a good idea.
You can also list up to two people as ‘pass holders’ directly onto the card. So for example, you and your spouse can both list your names on the pass.
What other types of passes are offered?
As mentioned above, there are a few other types of passes offered by the NPS that you might qualify for. Here are the basics:
- Military Pass
- For: Current US military members & dependents / US military veterans / Gold Star Family Members
- Cost: Free ($10 charge for ordering online)
- 4th Grade Pass
- For: 4th grade students, valid through the 4th grade school year and following summer (September-August). This also includes home-schooled students and free-choice learners who are 10 years old.
- Cost: Free
- This requires an ‘Every Kid Outdoors’ paper pass, which can be exchanged for the 4th Grade Pass at a federal recreation site.
- Senior Pass
- For: U.S. citizens and permanent residents age 62 or older
- Cost: $20 for annual pass / $80 for lifetime pass ($10 extra charge if ordered online)
- Access Pass:
- For: U.S. citizens or permanent residents who have a permanent disability
- Cost: Free lifetime pass ($10 charge for ordering online)
- Volunteer Pass:
- For: Those who have volunteered at least 250 service hours with a participating federal agency
- Free
- This pass is obtained through a volunteer coordinator.
How do I get a National Park Pass?
In person:
If you are needing a pass in less than 10 days, or are wanting to purchase one in person, you can do so by visiting one of hundreds of federal recreation sites in the country. Here is a list of the sites that are able to provide you with one.
Online or by phone:
You may also purchase one through the USGS by calling (888-275-8747), or by visiting http://store.usgs.gov/pass to order online.
Once ordered, it can take up to a couple of weeks to receive your pass.
Your order should contain both a physical card and a hangtag which you place the card inside of. This is how you’ll display your pass while in a park. If you drive a vehicle where a hangtag is not possible (for example, a Jeep with the doors removed), you may be able to purchase a decal that will work in place of the hangtag.
Some additional things to keep in mind:
- Passes are non-refundable.
- If you forget your pass and are required to pay an entrance fee, unfortunately they do not issue refunds for those fees.
- Lost or stolen cards cannot be replaced.
- Annual Passes are valid for 12 months from the month of purchase. This will be marked on your physical card for reference.
- You must be 16 years or older to buy a pass. Anyone under the age of 16 is admitted into parks for free.
Is it worth it for me to purchase a pass?
Now that we’ve covered all the basics of the pass, let’s talk about whether it’s worth it for you to purchase one. If you’re considering buying the pass, I encourage you to the think about the following things:
- How many parks will I be going to in the next year?
If you are planning to visit quite a few federal recreation sites in the next year, this pass may be well-worth the initial investment.
For example, my husband and I recently took a trip out west and knew we were going to be visiting at least 4 national parks. Each park had an entrance fee of around $30, so we knew that we would save money if we purchased the $80 pass rather than paying to get into each park individually. Think about how much money you would spend if you DIDN’T get the pass, and then compare the cost.
If you don’t have any concrete plans to go to a location where the pass would come in handy, it may be a better idea to wait on the pass until you know it’s worth it.
- Are there entrance fees for the parks I plan on visiting?
This is important to look into, because you don’t want to buy the pass and then realize it wasn’t necessary. Not all parks and recreation sites have entrance fees, and so the annual pass wouldn’t help you in those places. If you have a trip planned, find out what the entrance fee is for each park (you can just do a quick google search, for example, ‘Yosemite National Park entrance fee’), and see if the overall cost of entrance fees would outweigh the cost of the pass. If so, it’s probably well worth it to get the pass.
I hope that you now have a better understanding of what these passes are and how they work. I think these passes are great and can save you a lot of money if you’re planning on visiting a lot of national parks or other sites where they are accepted.
If you have any additional questions that I wasn’t able to answer here, I encourage you to check out the National Park Service website where they answer all kinds of questions pertaining to these passes. You can check that out here.
Want to visit all of the U.S. national parks? Check out the complete list and download a printable bucket list version here.
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