Hooray. I got my senior pass. I was in several national parks and monuments this summer and was unaware the cost was going from $10 to $80 for a life time pass at the end of August… So after I found out, I specifically went out of the way to some national sites to only find signs that said, due to demand, they were out of them.
So I was in Talkeetna, Alaska last week. It is a town of about 800 people. It apparently was the inspiration for the town on the tv show Northern Exposure for those of you old enough to remember. The ranger station is also the place all mountain climbers wanting to climb Denali ( formally Mt. McKinley), the highest mountain in North America, must register.
It was a very interesting, though small, ranger station with information about climbing Denali. The majority do not make the summit and many need to be rescued. Kind of like Everest but more restrictive.
Anyway, I asked if they sold passes. The young ranger said yes. I asked if he had senior passes and he said he had two left. I said I will take one!
Good for you @morrismm! H has one but I will not be eligible until Feb after the price hike in Jan. But, I don’t mind- it is the cost of one year for all the parks. I volunteer at a national park and it has been a very satisfying experience for me. BTW Canada entrance to their parks is free for 2017 and I applied for the pass online and they mailed it to me. I think you can get it at the gate if it is too late to get one before a trip.
I have a Canadian pass that was mailed to me free too. We used it for Waterton in Ontario Canada, north of Glacier MT.
H has 3 (or more) SR passes (we have misplaced them or not brought them on many trips). I’m too young to qualify but DO qualify and have paperwork for the free ACCESS pass for disable persons. I will try to get one , but if not we have H’s many passes.
As was posted above, even at $80 for a lifetime, that’s an amazing bargain! We bought several annual passes when our kids were young and we did road trips thru nationalbparks.
Got mine while onshore at a National Parks run museum during our Alaskan cruise, Sitka I think- H has his from a few years ago before I was old enough. Went to several National Parks when living in Wisconsin- driving distance to so much from the Midwest. Living in Florida not as likely to use it, but it paid for my admission.
All of the parks and other places (lakeshore, monument…) in every location we have been to run by the Park Service have been fantastic for information, organization etc. Something to fight for if budget cuts ever try to ruin them.
Oh NO! the rate increase on the fed site says August 28th it goes up! My bad.
It pays for itself really fast if you visit national parks or monuments, camp (half price), etc.
Apparently they also have some senior $20 per year system I just read about.
The lady at the museum was kind enough to point out the price increase coming, and that it near the end of the month. So proud of those civil servants and their actions every time.
I have had the pass for few years. The best of the pass is that with one pass you can take a group of people with you and the whole group does not have to pay the entrance fee. I have done that at Muirwood National Park in CA. At the time, we had about 8 from two cars, with my pass, everyone got in FREE.
H just got one in May at Harper’s Ferry. Best $10 we ever spent! We had no idea it existed until the park ranger at the parking lot entrance told us about it. And as I remember, it covers everyone in your group as well. At that price, I was going to get my own just to have it, but like rockymtnhigh, I am not eligible til next year.
We have national park land around us so we buy a pass every year even though we aren’t seniors. It’s $80/year and we definitely get our money’s worth and feel like we are supporting out national parks.
I know that the national park near us, a park pass is for one car, the other car would have to have its own pass. And the holder has to be in the car, you can’t even lend it to your kid. Tried that it didn’t work. They ask for your id.
DH ordered his online a few weeks ago. We figured that only one of us needed to get one since the car tag is good for a carload and the individual pass allows you to bring 3 more people in with you.
Note to NPS Senior Pass Holders: Place it with your passport so it has a permanent place
You should always know where your passport is located so logically you’ll have your parks pass handy
Ordered ours online a few weeks ago. The directions said to print the receipt and that will be accepted by the parks at there is about a 13 week back log of orders! I put the receipt in our safe with the passports too.