Annual passes are stickers affixed to vehicle windshields that offer discounts on day use and camping fees at most state parks and historic sites. Frequent visitors often purchase these passes, which cover all day use fees for one vehicle. Most senior discounts offered at state parks are for those 60 years or older, although some programs start at age 50 or 55. State parks offer special discounts for seniors, including reduced admission fees, discounted camping rates, and discounted park passes. Kentucky State Parks provide a 10 lodging and camping discount for seniors.
All fifty states have their official state park websites and information on their state park entrance pass program. Customers can find their state, order an entrance pass, and enjoy unlimited access to state parks and historic sites. Wyoming’s Division of State Parks and Historic Sites is offering early bird discounts on annual day-use permits through February 15. Resident day-use passes are discounted, and customers can start using their passes for discounts on reservations right away.
The legislation increases the price of a lifetime pass for senior citizens 62 and older to $80 from its current $10 lifetime fee. The Senior Lifetime Pass is valid for your lifetime and costs $80, while the Senior Annual Pass is valid for one year and costs $20. Some states offer exclusive savings for seniors visiting a park, with the senior version of the pass being only $18. Senior out-of-state visitors pay $35 for a pass.
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Does senior pass work at Yellowstone National Park?
The Senior Pass permits owners and passengers in non-commercial vehicles at per-vehicle fee areas to enter the park free of charge. Pass owners and up to four adults are subject to the per-person fee, while children under the age of 16 are exempt from payment.
Are seniors free at NY state parks?
The New York State Golden Park Program allows residents aged 62 or older to access state parks, boat launch sites, arboretums, and state historic sites for free on Mondays and Fridays. To access these facilities, residents must present their valid New York State Driver License or New York State Non-Driver Identification Card at the park entrance. No application is required, and pay stations can be found at participating facilities. For more information, contact the nearest state park or regional office.
Does Yellowstone have a senior discount?
Yellowstone Vacations is offering a discount to seniors aged 62 and older, allowing them to enjoy the timeless beauty of Yellowstone for less. This offer is valid for new bookings only and cannot be combined with any other promotion, package, or contract. The discount is available year-round and is subject to change without notice, blackout days may apply, and a valid ID is required at check-in. To request the Senior Discount, use the booking links provided or call 877-600-4308, and Holiday Inn® West Yellowstone guests can call 866-484-1956 or Ridgeline Hotel® at Yellowstone at 406-203-9965.
How much does it cost to camp at Grand Teton National Park?
Grand Teton National Park has five campgrounds within its boundaries, offering excellent facilities and ideal for families with kids. These sites are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, with advance reservations not accepted. Campgrounds tend to fill up early in the summer, some by 8am. RVs and trailers are best suited at Colter Bay RV Park and Headwaters Campground at Flagg Ranch, which provide full hook-ups, showers, and laundry.
Tent sites are available for $37. 50, while RV sites are $73 and tent sites are $37. 50. Campgrounds tend to fill up early each day in the summer, some by 8am. For questions, call the park directly at 739-3300.
Do seniors get a discount at Texas state parks?
The Texas State Park Pass for Seniors, also known as a Texas Parklands Passport, is a special offering designed to make it easier and more affordable for senior citizens to enjoy the natural wonders of the state parks. With this pass, seniors can access all 88 state parks and natural areas across Texas, each offering unique landscapes and recreational activities. The pass is available for those born before September 1st, 1930, and for those 65 years old or older and a Texas resident, with a 50% discount rounded to the next whole dollar.
The pass allows seniors to enjoy unlimited visits to Texas State Parks for an entire year at a fraction of the regular cost. Texas State Parks offer a wide variety of outdoor experiences, from leisurely hikes to beautiful waterfall views.
Do seniors get discounts at SC state parks?
South Carolina residents aged 65 or older, legally blind or 100 disabled can receive rate reductions for certain activities. They can receive 35 off admission, camping, picnic shelters, golf and fishing pier admission, and 50 off the ALL park passport for one year. However, no rate reductions are available for lodging, building or meeting facility rentals, leased facilities, resale items, or equipment rentals. For more information, contact the park directly. Out-of-state senior citizens, blind or disabled citizens may also receive discounts.
Do seniors get a discount at NY state parks?
The New York State Golden Park Program allows residents aged 62 or older to access state parks, boat launch sites, arboretums, and state historic sites for free on Mondays and Fridays. To access these facilities, residents must present their valid New York State Driver License or New York State Non-Driver Identification Card at the park entrance. No application is required, and pay stations can be found at participating facilities. For more information, contact the nearest state park or regional office.
Do California state parks offer senior discounts?
California State Parks offer a $1. 00 discount for vehicle day use and a $2. 00 discount for family camping to persons 62 years of age or older, based on a valid state-issued driver license or photo identification. This discount is not applicable to fees under $2. 00, oversize vehicle fees, extra vehicle fees, or units operated by local government, private agencies, or concessionaires. It is not valid for per-person entry, tour fees, special events, group sites, commercial use, or supplemental fees and cannot be combined with other passes or discounts.
Is there free camping in Wyoming?
Boondocking is a popular activity in Wyoming, with two national parks, five national forests, and the Thunder Basin National Grasslands offering some boondocking opportunities. The state’s center is mostly private land, with federal lands near the four corners. However, Jackson and Cheyenne, the largest cities, prohibit overnight parking. While some Walmarts and restaurants allow boondocking, they should not be relied upon as accommodations. Wyoming is known for getting lost, but it’s important to make a few guesses about your desired destination before starting your journey. Here are some of the best boondocking spots in Wyoming.
How much does it cost to camp in Wyoming state parks?
The cost of camping per vehicle is dependent upon the specific park or site in question and encompasses both day use and applicable taxes. The base rate is $10 for residents and $18 for non-residents. The fee is calculated by adding the base camping fee, the day use fee, and the sales and lodging tax. Admission to the Quebec-01 Missile Alert Facility State Historic Site and the Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site is free for children and youth.
Does my senior pass work at Acadia National Park?
Acadia National Park accepts payment and honors valid Interagency Passes, including Annual, Senior, Access, and Military. These passes are non-transferable, non-refundable, and cannot be replaced if lost or stolen. They are void if altered or reproduced. If you already have an America The Beautiful Senior, Military, Access, or Annual pass, this pass is not needed. Visit the park’s Fees and Passes web page for more information.
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I am a Harvest Hosts all access member and signed up for Campscanner after perusal your article. My cost was $33 and change after the discount, and as you said that was for the “Summit” level membership. I ran a test scan for one of our favorite COE campgrounds, W.P. Franklin North, which is on the Caloosahatchee River west of Ft. Myers. I set it to scan for June 14th for three nights, with flexible dates selected. There was no availability when I set these parameters. Last night after I went to bed, I received several text messages alerting me that W.P. North was available for three nights starting June 14th! It worked! Thanks, Stacy, for telling us about this new web tool. It’s going to come in very handy!
Love you guys! Your articles are great and since we are relatively new full-timers you keep us well informed. Also, I just signed up for CampScanner, I was considering it but you convinced me. Also PSA… it’s sometimes helpful to search for state by abbreviation but you also need to have a minimum of three characters, so for instance, “CT ” will work for parks in Connecticut (notice the space character at the end to get three characters) Just thought I’d throw that out there for everyone else.
I’m a HH member, so I joined Campscanner when I saw the e-mail. But after creating an account it wouldn’t let me sign in. So I never could get to the searches. I e-mailed them, got some generic “tips” but I couldn’t sign in, e-mailed a second time, got more generic “tips” but no one attempted to solve the problem. There’s no one to talk to. No chat. I’m cancelling. UPDATE: It appears there’s no campgrounds in Florida in the database??? So when I tried to ‘search’ familiar parks it went nowhere. Nowhere does it mention what’s available, at least in my limited access. I still can’t access the “Find a park by state” page. So frustrating.
FYI, never got the 20% discount code figured out, but decided it would be worth it for planning our Florida Keys trip next year. Signed up and then realized with the first scan I tried that Florida State Parks are not part of the system. Super disappointed given I signed up specifically for a Florida trip that includes a lot of state parks. Also realized that it is owned by Harvest Host. Something that was left out of the article.
Thank you for the information. On an unrelated topic, where did you get your computer screen mount? Do you possibly have a link and is that an iMac you have mounted to it? I am looking for something that will work for us while I sit at the dinette table. Something that will swing out of the way and articulate just like what you are using in this article. Thank you for any information you might have. Happy trails to a Blessed Camping adventure!
Having the same issues as many, no option to override the intro15 code. I have a message in for assistance, initially said 2 hours, now says within the day. By the time they fix this the Someday20 rate will be gone. We are Harvest Host, just basic members. This is a service we would welcome and would love the extra 5% off.
You can also walk into some Forest Service offices and get your pass; call ahead to see if that service is offered. I walked in, announced I was 62, and was met with grins and a form to fill out to get my senior pass. They could give me the pass immediately. Believe me, it paid for itself in the first month.
I have heard other websites cover this topic and never mention the access pass. Thank you for covering that, as I am autistic, and it is a permanent disability. I have both a letter from my doctor and SS letter. I also appreciate that you went into the fact that it wasn’t just mobility disability. Although I have that too, my letters are for autism. I am going full-time next year and having a lifetime pass will be a super savings for me.
Our senior pass gets us into the big parks. But, it also gets us into the small local federal parks. We can take a walk around Lynx Lake (20 mi away). Or, stroll around the south rim of the Grand Canyon (60 mi away). We do these things often. So, we have saved alot of $$. Thanks for the in-depth info. You do a stellar job of explaining it all.
Bought the golden age (senior pass now) when I turned 62, for $20. Bought it at Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego. In those days it was only available for a year. I turned 62 very close to when the window closed!! Drove down to san Diego (90 miles) specifically to get it. Whew! I am now 80. Best purchase I ever made! Entrance fees keep going up so its value keeps going up.
I am retired military. I never minded paying for the annual pass. It helps support the parks? (I tell myself that my $80.00 made the difference. LOL) I always encouraged the current service members to take the pass and go see this beautiful country we have the honor of serving. I now cherish my pass more than if I paid for it. What an honor. I love our national parks. I live in Washington state, we have several parks here.
I have an old farts card and my wife has a access card. She unfortunately has more than one qualifying conditions, but we just used a note from her ENT doctor stating severe hearing loss and five minutes later walked out with a card. We got ours at the park headquarters at south rim. One other benefit of the access pass is that when you make reservations for a handicap camp site if you put in the card number in the site, it pre verifies that you are eligible for that site. Not a big deal but one last thing todo a checking.
When we tried getting our passes online we waited forever, I cancelled it and went to a federal Rangers station we walked out that day with our passes. And avoided the $10 service fee. If you have several weeks/months to wait online it is a good option . We were leaving on a trip and couldn’t wait for them to ship it.
Very thorough explanation! I do beg to differ a bit on some state parks. We were told and have successfully used our National Park Pass/Interagency Pass for State park entry fees. As I understand it, if the State park accepts federal funding they are obliged to accept the National Park Pass for entry fees. Some state parks charge an entry fee per person, so one NPP may only cover the entry fee for one person. Speaking from experience, we have used our NPP in Utah and Arizona at parks like Dead Horse State Park and Tonto Natural Bridge State Park. Thanks again for the excellent article.
The concessioners are now using public property as private property, only open when they can make money, defect private property, closed otherwise preventing the public from using public property. All federal agencies are covered by the basic law, “All federal agencies shall act in manner for the benefit of the American people.” This “reservation” system is unfair and absolutely wrong. Only those who can plan sixth months in advance can camp. Wage workers and the like cannot make those. Hence, some people make multiple reservations, then cancel later, usually at the last minute . Thus, it prevents others from camping. It is public land not private. It’s just more of the gradual privatization of the public lands…
We purchased our America the Beautiful pass last year at REI. I think they charge $79.99, and it meant having it with us before we showed up, but we made a point of buying it the same month as when we left. You should have explained how they mark the month that you bought the pass, and that it lasts through the end of that month the next year, so it’s actually a 13-month pass.
Not all NPs let you in for free with the passes, the parks they outsource the management can refuse the passes. In the black hills for example Mt Rushmore you have to pay $10 to park the pass doesn’t work for parking. You can’t get in free unless you get a ride to drop you off and pick you up later. Also when I got our passes a car load was 4 people per vehicle on a pass, not a 15 passenger van full of people.
Just a wording tip for anyone reading. Sometimes when people including RV Miles (and the source he got it from) use the term citizen in the United States this includes people who are permanent residents but not officially citizens. You can definitely get the other passes as a permanent resident even if you aren’t a citizen (sometimes people assume this, but sometimes they don’t so figured it wouldn’t hurt to mention this.)
If you buy a park specific pass and then decide to see other parks, you can do an upgrade. They will TAKE that pass and you would pay the difference between it and $80. The new pass would be punched for the same month as the old pass. Also, states often have passes for state parks for disability or for vets, maybe seniors.
Military Pass: I can confirm that vets get a lifetime pass. I was renewing mine each year and on my last Joshua Pass and they finally gave me a lifetime pass. There are two VA vards. There is your VA medical card, which can work, there is a secondary VA id card that you can order. I should note mine took like 2 months. I just tell vets to get the VETERAN stamp on your license. Each state is a little different but it is worth it. That is all the rangers need. For all passes, remember that some trailheads for National Forest Trails that normally charge for parking will allow you to use the pass (leave it visible).
Thank you Jason for this information on the park passes and the way to use them if you lose your pass. This helps. My mom had a lifetime pass from a park in Michigan and we were able to use it for here. Which so nice. I think we might have to get a new one though since my mom passed away. Thank you again Jason. Have a great weekend. See you soon!
Anyone familiar with all these sites like army corp of engineers locations that have over the years started giving cities and states access to federal property and the local or state organizations turn it into a pay fee park. examples like cherry creek or chatfield state parks in colorado they use to be Army corp of engineer sites and they allowed the state of colorado to create a park and start making everyone get a state pass. Proprty still army corp of engineers but the state of colorado is using the area around the dam as a state park.
CHANGE NOTICE: I have been using the boat ramps at Rocky Creek & Yegua Creek parks on Lake Somerville in Texas for over 30 yrs. These are Corp Of Engineer parks. In the past 5 years, gate personnel have been advising me that I should purchase a Senior Lifetime pass so that when I retire I can continue to utilize the boat ramps at no charge. So, I did purchase the Senior Lifetime Pass. The year I retired (last year), notices were posted at the entrance gates that I will no longer be able to use the boat ramps unless I had a camping reservation. I rarely camp there. The boat ramp at Rocky Creek is only 600 yards away from my favorite fishing spot. I sold my power boat and now using a kayak to cut down on expenses. Now to fish at my favorite spot, I have launch at a state park on the opposite side of the lake over a mile away. Factor in the wind coming across the lake really makes this a hardship. The Senior Lifetime Pass no longer serves the function that I primarily purchased it for. Hopefully this will help your viewers. Do you or any viewers know who to speak with to fight this?
So excited about that Access pass!!! I SUFFER from bipolar disorder (it has been quite a struggle for me) and I absolutely have found nature to be more healing than medication. I bought a pass this year but to hear there is a free lifetime one made just for people like me, almost makes me feel good to have bipolar, lol! Thanks so much for this article, you just made me so excited for the adventures I have planned!!!
Let’s be clear… a $70 annual pass to Yellowstone is only $10 cheaper than the America the Beautiful Pass, which will get you into Yellowstone AND the Grand Tetons AND Craters of the Moon AND any FS recreation sites and trailheads that charge a fee AND…. you get the point. If you live near a national park and there is any chance of visiting another federal property within a year, the America the Beautiful pass is almost always worth the small extra cost from the pass to just that park.
As usual, Really appreciated your article. You put out great information, very thorough. Although I shouldn’t be, I’m still amazed how you can talk about things these days. To your spouse or to your family or look something up in one area of your life and how suddenly it becomes a suggested article in YouTube. Big Brother is constantly perusal us, but yet they don’t want us in national parks. Enjoying them with articles and cameras. I know this was not the topic, but I’m just amazed. And I know Big Brother GOOGLE is not the same Big Brother that we’re talking about. I have carried the Golden Access pass in my pocket since the beginning of time it seems. A paper card covered in plastic. I always had a copy of my Mil. disability paperwork in the glove box with me But,I guess it makes sense to. Have it with me no matter what. Riding electric bikes although. I wonder if a copy on your phone is good enough? Although I can probably find this out when I buy the new passes. Did I understand you correctly? That these passes are going to be a one and all across most of the venues. Or. You’re gonna still have to get state, national, federal, and other passes. As you go.? Truly enjoy your website. Keep doing what you do. God bless.
I am so glad I found your article, reading all the information on the websites can be a bit overwhelming. I am trying to apply for the every kid outdoors pass, but the link does not open up the site. I even tried to just google it myself, to no success. Does anyone know if something has changed? I have a trip coming this July 4th week, so I am trying to get this asap.
So, there’s not any difference in discounts between a Senior Pass and an Access ♿ Pass? What if you’re a disabled senior, do I get 100% off at parks?! Just kidding, about it being free, but not about being disabled and a senior. Is there any reason that one pass is better than the other? My husband and I will be traveling and exploring a lot, hopefully, before I become too disabled, or we run out of money😂 Seriously, is there any advantage between the two passes? Thanks for the article. You explain this so much better than the government website did! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Since I qualify for the American the Beautiful Lifetime Military pass, I’m going to get it online before heading to Yellowstone later this year. Once I have the pass, do I ALSO need any other proof that I served along with the pass? I don’t have a VA card or Veteran designation on my Drivers License.
If you are unlucky enough to live in southern California you get to buy an Adventure Pass to park in Los Padres, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Cleveland National Forests. It’s $30 a year or $5 per visit. I, and many others, believe this pass is unfair and illegal despite the courts upholding it’s use. If some national forests are going to charge a use fee then all of them should – or shouldn’t. Only those using these national forests are being taken advantage of.
I will be retiring next yr? I want to Tour the US including Alaska in 2014 Promaster conv can. I get the Free Military Park pass. Will I need Advance Reservations at l the Nato Parks? That will put pressure on when and where I go? What is weather is bad or I want to change plans? I toured US after USMC in 1986 I cud just go and get a Campsite but now Parks are .uch more crowded?
All entirely false. All of these “parks” are actually designated as public lands set aside for the public to enjoy and protected from urban sprawl….and development. Taxes actually pay for all of this….including the salaries of park rangers and other non essential park personnel. It is illegal to collect additional fees to be able to enter, camp or otherwise enjoy our public lands. We already own them and have full rights to use them.