Good Deal: America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass

2009 November 4

by David Schlichter

Source: http://store.usgs.gov

Have you ever been to Rocky Mountain National Park? Yellowstone? Yosemite? Chances are you have been to one of these places or someplace similar, and you probably remember going on gorgeous hikes, witnessing spectacular views, and getting up-close-and-personal with some amazing wildlife. If you went within the past several years, you probably also paid quite a bit of money to get in. At Rocky Mountain National Park, for example, currently you must pay entrance fees of $20 per car or $10 per hiker, biker, or motorcyclist. At Yellowstone, the cost is even higher at $25 per car and $12 per hiker, biker, or motorcyclist.

Matt Koenigsknecht of Denver takes in his surroundings at Rocky Mountain National Park.

If you appreciate our national parks and forests as much as we do, the cost of visiting them can quickly add up. Thankfully, you don’t have to spend a fortune to witness these incredible sights. We recommend investing in the America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass. For $80, you don’t pay entrance fees or standard amenity fees for a year to sites managed by the National Parks Service, the Forest Service, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Reclamation for a year. Not only do you get in free, you can bring three adults free with you at per-person sites, you can bring unlimited children under 16 free, and you also get certain discounts on extended amenities such as camping (extended amenity discounts vary, but in general the pass earns you a 50% discount off camping when you stay at a National Park).

At Rocky Mountain National Park’s Moraine Park Campground that saves you $10 per night. Let’s do some math: You go to Rocky Mountain National Park and stay 3 days. Without the pass, you pay $80: $20 to get in and 3 x $20 a night for camping. With the pass you pay only $30: $0 to get in and only $10 per night. By having the pass, you save $50 on this one trip alone. You can imagine how taking just one more camping trip during the year makes this pass a very Good deal.

You can purchase the America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass here.