3 Ways to Visit National Parks for Free
The United States is home to hundreds of national parks, and these form part of the 2 000+ national sites we have. Each site has different entry requirements and fees, depending on popularity and size. But believe it or not, many of them have free entrance. These are the top three ways you can get in for FREE:
1. Visit the free-entrance national parks
Some national parks offer free entry all the time. It’s up to you to research which of the 400+ national parks have this option. The National Park Service (NPS) website makes this so much easier. Visit their site here to find information about national parks in the country, including those with free entry.
2. Visit during special days
For six days every year, you can visit every national park in the United States for free. However, the park activities are often not free; they only waive the national park entrance fees on those days. Camping, boat launches, tours, and other activities are not free. You still save, nonetheless. The money saved from the entrance fee could fund some of those activities.
Veterans’ Day on November 11 is one of those six days. So is the fourth Saturday of September each year, which is National Public Lands Day (NPLD). You can easily find the other four days on the NPS website.
National Public Lands Day is dear to Leila’s heart. The day combines two of her favorite things – being in the great outdoors and connecting with people. This year’s theme was “more ways to connect with nature.” The NPS established the event in 1994 so people would have the opportunity to volunteer, connect, and be a part of the public land service. So, they waive fees in the entire national park system.
If you want to volunteer during the next National Public Lands Day, you can look through the NPS website to find volunteer opportunities. There are numerous in-person and virtual volunteer opportunities. You can input your zip code here to find the nearest sites to your area and the number of required volunteers. It’s not just a one-day opportunity; you can continue volunteering after the day if you so wish.
Not sure what to do for the next National Public Lands Day? Let this infographic from the National Park Services be your guide! Source: NPS.gov/Juliana Luna
The NPS made National Public Lands Day virtual last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The virtual event attracted a more diverse audience compared to previous years, so they decided to keep it virtual for good.
If you're a history buff, you might be able to get some of your work into the Smithsonian. If you want to track birds in your area, there's a program where you can help track and identify birds and see their migration patterns. There are way too many different opportunities to mention, but you can find ones that interest you on the NPS website. I promise, the NPS didn’t sponsor this post or our video; their website is just THAT good.
3. Get the ‘America the Beautiful’ pass
The pass offers access to all the national parks and national sites in the country. They have three types of free entry passes. The first type is the access pass, which is for U.S citizens or permanent residents living with a permanent disability. You only have to prove to them that you're disabled.
As you know, our daughter Kalin has developmental disabilities. We had already purchased our ‘America the Beautiful’ pass when we realized that the access pass was easy to get. All we had to do was submit a doctor’s letter. You can take the doctor’s note directly to the park (which is free) or mail it in for $10. For the pass to work, Kalin needs to be with us when we go into the park.
You can only use the pass in one vehicle, and the person whose name is on the pass must be in the car with you. The access pass can also get you discounts on activities and amenities in many national parks and programs. Even on the U.S Army Corps of Engineers campgrounds, you pay half the price for camping. Some of the activity discounts are specifically for the person with the access pass. The goal is to increase access to the outdoors.
Another ‘America the Beautiful’ pass is the military pass, which is for active military dependents, vets, and Gold Star families. Gold Star families are direct relatives of people that were lost while serving the country. This pass has the same rules as the access pass. The person with the military pass must be in the vehicle with you. Any non-commercial vehicle can get in with up to three adults and then the kids.
You can also access national parks for free with a 4th grade pass. If you are a fourth-grader, you can get a pass for about a year to visit national parks for free. The same rules as the access pass apply. They want to encourage fourth graders to visit national parks. Even if your fourth-grader is home-schooled, maybe because you're traveling full time in an RV, they can get the pass.
I love the idea that they're introducing kids to the beauty of nature at a young age. Adventure really should be accessible to every kid, every ethnic group, and every diversity group. Everybody should be exposed to the great outdoors.
We hope you take advantage of these opportunities and have the best time with your family and friends. As always, we can't wait to share more of our adventures with you!
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