Lifetime passes to America’s national parks for senior citizens and Americans with disabilities now are available through the mail.
National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis said that the two passes still will be available at national parks, but the option of receiving a pass by mail may better suit some people, Jarvis said.
The Senior and Access passes provide admission to, and use of, federal recreation sites that charge entrance or standard amenity fees. Pass users also receive a 50 percent discount on some amenity fees for activities like camping and launching a boat.
The passes are available to citizens and permanent residents of the United States age 62 or older, or anyone with a permanent disability.
The Senior and Access versions of the America the Beautiful Pass – the National Parks and federal recreational lands pass – are good for a lifetime. The Access pass is free and the Senior pass is just $10. There is a $10 processing fee to receive either pass by mail. In comparison, the standard America the Beautiful Pass is $80.
The passes can be used at more than 2,000 federal recreation sites across the nation, including national parks, national wildlife refuges, and many national forest lands. In our areas, passes are required for places such as Mount Rainier and Olympic national parks, the Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge, and Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument.
To get your senior pass through the mail, submit a completed application, proof of residency and age, and a fee of $20. The fee covers the cost of the pass and processing fee. You can print out an application at store.usgs.gov/pass. Once the application package is received and the documentation verified, the pass will be mailed to you.
The application for the Access pass is available at the same website. Just complete the application along with proof of residency and documentation of permanent disability plus the $10 document processing fee. Once the application package is received and verified, the pass and the documentation of permanent disability you provided will be mailed to you.
To learn more
For more information, visit nps.gov/fees_passes.htm or store.usgs.gov/pass.
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