National Parks Annual Passes

By: MJ + PJ

In July 2017 we purchased the National Parks Annual Pass for $80. This card can be used for entry for your vehicle and passengers in all National Parks, most national forests and parklands, and BLM lands for the subsequent 12 to 13 months (it expires at end of month punched on the card). You can see more detail about this (general) pass, and the other National Parks passes (military, senior, access, volunteer) at the NPS website. 

We purchased it in that month as we knew we would use it in the Summer of 2017 and up until we left the US in late Summer 2018. Most National Parks have an entrance fee of about $5 to $20 per vehicle, so visiting your local park a few times, or visiting numerous in a year gets you a pretty good deal. For us it was a no brainer to get this pass!

Here is the list of National Parks we visited using our card and the cost of entry for a day at each. It was retired on the day it expired with our visit to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.

• Abraham Lincoln Birthplace (free)
• Antietam National Battlefield ($10)
• Arches National Park ($30)
• Carl Sandberg National Historic Site ($10)
• Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park ($10)
• Crater Lake National Park ($25)
• Fort McHenry National Monument & Historic Shrine ($15)
• Glacier National Park ($35)
• Grand Teton National Park ($35) (visited in summer 2017)
• Great Falls (George Washington Memorial Parkway) ($10)
• Harpers Ferry National Historical Park ($10)
• Inidiana Dunes National Lakeshore ($6)
• Liberty Island and Ellis Island (no card for entry; fee per person for ferry to enter)
• Mammoth Cave (free entry, tours are $7 to $55 adults)
• Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument ($5)
• Muir Woods National Monument ($10)
• National Mall and Memorial Parks (free)
• Presidio of San Francisco (free)
• Rocky Mountain National Park ($35) (visited 3x in summer 2017)
• Shenandoah National Park ($30)
• Yellowstone National Park ($35) (visited in summer 2017)
• Zion National Park ($35)

We visited 14 parks, with three visits to RMNP in 2017, making 25+ visits. The total fees we would have incurred: $410. Dividing up the cost of the card per visit, we paid about $3 per park. We got our money’s worth in our home National Park before even leaving on this trip!

The other money saved by visiting National Parks in the US is via educational activities and rewards that our student can take advantage of, and the cheaper campsites that they have compared to private campsites or the KOA system. Of course it is best to book ahead if possible as in the busy summer in the US some campsites on particular weekends are full.

Usual costs of campsites:

• National Parks: $20-25 per night
• Private: $25-50 per night
• KOA: $40-55 per night