National Park Pass

[RetiredAndFree]

Planning a trip from west Michigan to Yellowstone starting end of May through June of 2022. Got reservations already booked going 200-300 miles per day going west mostly I90 and east going I80. Got a few 2 or 3 night stops along with 7 nights for Yellowstone and Grand Tetons. Bought our senior lifetime pass. Doing research on NPS Ap on Devils Tower and see another vehicle pass for 1-7 days for $25 required. Is this correct? Basically need 2 passes? Certainly won't change our plans but I'm a little confused.

 

[UTTransplant]

Your America the Beautiful Senior Pass will get you in the park without the additional cost as long as you are in a vehicle. If you have a second vehicle unattached to the rig, you will need a second pass, but that probably isn’t what you are doing, is it?

 

[RetiredAndFree]

Motorhome towing toad. Motorhome will stay at the campground and use toad to get around in the National Parks and at monuments.

 

[garyb1st]

Have had the America the Beautiful pass for probably 15+ years. Have saved many $$$$$ over the years in entry passes and camping discounts.

What I never considered until recently was it doesn't do the DW any good since it's in my name and I'm the only one that can use it. So on a recent trip to a National Rec Area, the wife asked the entrance attendee if she could reenter the park if she left with her bicycle. The attendee said yes, for $15.00. What's funny is the bike path is maybe 50 feet from the entry station. She could enter the park on the bike path for free.

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

Not all park fees are covered by the NP Pass, e.g. fees imposed by a concessionaire for some facility or service. For example, the parking garage at Mt Rushmore is an extra fee in addition to the admission. The NP Pass covers admission only. There is no other choice of place to park, so you have to pay the extra if you want to enter the park.

In my experience most federal parks allow you to designate one vehicle for re-entering the park, i.e. you can say you are just parking the motorhome to live in and the toad gets the entry/exit pass. I've heard stories of places that would not do that, but never experienced it myself.

I did have an experience where we disconnected the toad outside the park because we wanted to use it for some shopping & such before we entered. My wife drove the car into the park separately and the attendant was adament that my pass (in the coach) did not cover the car. I paid a one-day day-use fee for her & the car. Once inside, I moved the in/out pass to the car and nobody ever questioned it.

 

[RetiredAndFree]

Kind of what I thought. Motorhome will not be in any parks so we have the one Senior pass for the toad. Expected everything else to come with a price. Was surprised to go to The Great Smoky Mountains in July and no pass required. Only place we had to pay to park was in Gatlinburg.

 

[Isaac-1]

The standard America the Beautiful pass can have 2 "owners" so there should be no issue with the wife using it when you are not there if she is named as the second "owner", the pass covers the owner and up to some reasonable number of people in the same vehicle. There is no requirement on the second owner being related etc. so in theory you could share a pass with your neighbor or anyone else you wanted. I don't know if it the same wit the senior pass.

 

[Aaron5er]

I bought my lifetime senior America the Beautiful pass at the Badlands National Park entrance gate in early September this year for $80.
It would have been $30 just to enter that park. I called the park ahead of time to confirm and only needed to show ID.

The next day I used the pass for the 50% discount at the Pactola Lake Forest Service Campground. I paid for another 8 days and saved $104.
It's also good for discounts at COE Campgrounds that charge.
Basically it is good for free entrance or discounts to federal and national facilities.

No additional cost for anything at Glacier, Yellowstone, the Tetons NP or Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

I also went to Rushmore.
No entrance fees but the parking fee was $10, until the computer asked if I was a senior, then it was $5.
Crystal Cave west of Custer also has no entrance fee.

 

[Aaron5er]

My pass does not have my name on it, just the pass #.
It can not be replaced if it is lost.
You have to buy it again.

Back to your original question.
I just did a quick search and it looks like there are not any more fees.
The America the Beautiful pass is an Interagency Pass for all public lands.

 

[RetiredAndFree]

I bought my Senior Pass at a National Forest Field Service office in Baldwin Michigan. Had to sign it when I got it and only I can use. Basically, I have to be present when it's used. Thanks for everyone's responses.

 

[CharlesinGA]

Not all park fees are covered by the NP Pass, e.g. fees imposed by a concessionaire for some facility or service. For example, the parking garage at Mt Rushmore is an extra fee in addition to the admission. The NP Pass covers admission only. There is no other choice of place to park, so you have to pay the extra if you want to enter the park.

Not sure if it has changed since I was there in 2017, but Rushmore is free to everyone. Yes the parking is $10 but they will give seniors a special $5 price (at least they did for me, I didn't ask, they offered) The parking pass is good for 365 days.

Couples should get their own senior passes for issues like described above with the separated vehicle. No matter what happens, you have a pass. Yes, its $80 but I feel its worth the peace of mind.

You can order any of the passes online for $10 for handling, EXCEPT the senior pass which you must do in person. Here is a PDF file that is a list of every place in the country you can obtain an America the Beautiful pass. Some places may not issue certain passes. Be aware the PDF file is 45 pages of fine print

America The Beautiful Pass issuance location list, by state, PDF file.

Here is much the same info in web page format, searchable.

Places to Get Interagency Passes (U.S. National Park Service)

This is 60 web pages of information but is searchable.

Here is info on all of the passes.

Entrance Passes (U.S. National Park Service)

If you are a veteran and have proof of service you can enter free................. ie.

Department of Defense Identification Card (non-expired CAC Card)

Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)

Veteran ID Card

Veterans designation on a state-issued US driver’s license or identification card

This only applies to the Veteran themselves and not others in the company of the veteran. Gold Star families are also admitted free but there is no explanation of what proof needs to be presented.

On my 62ed birthday I bought myself a senior pass for a birthday present. I drove about 45 minutes away to a Corp of Engineer dam project management office which I had called previously and verified they had the passes. This was earlier in the year that the price went up, so I only paid $10.

Charles