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Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Why I love the America the Beautiful Pass

I was cleaning out my car today and found America the Beautiful passes dating back to 2018. We'e always had one as a couple and it's a money saver, if like us you enjoy spending time outside and have a road trip bug. 

This is my reminder to everyone who likes to enjoy the great outdoors, that it's worth it to have an American the Beautiful Pass. If you are between 16 and 62 its $80 for an annual, over 62 $80 for LIFE, Member of the armed forces, a 4th grader or disabled FREE. 

Here is your one stop shop for the COST of visiting a national park without the pass- This list is for people ages 16 and older entering with a car. There are also countless historical sites and recreational spaces you can visit for free with this pass. 

Alaska:

Denali $15 per person

Gates of the Arctic- Best of luck getting here but free to enter if you can

Glacier Bay- Best of luck getting here but free to enter if you can

Katmai-Best of luck getting here but free to enter if you can

Kenai Fjords- No national park fee- but you're going to want to do a boat ride to enjoy it. 

Kobuk Valley-Best of luck getting here but free to enter if you can

Lake Clark- Best of luck getting here but free to enter if you can

Wrangell St. Elias-Best of luck getting here but free to enter if you can

American Samoa- Best of luck getting here but free to enter if you can as most of the island is a National Park

Arizona

Grand Canyon: $35 per car

Petrified Forest: $25 per car 

Saguaro: $25 per car

Arkansas:

Hot Springs: Fee Free park 

California:

Channel Islands: Fee Free Park- Requires a ferry ride to access-cost associated

Death Valley: $30 per car

Joshua Tree: $30 per car

Lassen Volcanic: $30 per car in the spring/summer, $10 per car in fall/winter

Pinnacles: $30 per car

Redwoods: Fee Free Park

Sequoia & Kings: $35 per car

Yosemite: $35 per car

Colorado:

Black Canyon of the Gunnison: $30 per car

Great Sand Dunes: $25 per car

Mesa Verde: $30 per car in the summer early fall, $20 the rest of the year

Rocky Mountain: $30 per car (1 day), $35 per car ( 1 week)

Florida:

Biscayne: Fee Free park

Dry Tortuga: $15 fee per person

Everglades: $30 per car

Hawaii:

Hawai'i Volcano: $30 per car

Haleakala: $30 per car + $1 sunrise or sunset reservation 

Indiana:

Indiana Dunes: $25 per car

Kentucky:

Mammoth Cave: Fee Free Park

Maine:

Acadia: $30 Per car 

Michigan:

Isle Royal- A struggle to get there and once you do its $7 per person

Minnesota:

Voyageurs: Fee Free Park- Do you own research on camping fees and permits 

Missouri:

Gateway Arch: Free to visit- but if you want to go up the pass gets you a $3 per person discount on your ticket. 

Montana:

Glacier: $35 per car

Yellowstone: $35 per car

New Mexico:

Carlsbad Caverns: $15 per person

White Sands: $25 per car

North Carolina:

Great Smokey Mountains: Fee Free Park

North Dakota:

Theodore Roosevelt: $30 per car

Nevada:

Death Valley: $30 per car

Great Basin: Fee Free Park

Ohio:

Cuyahoga Valley: Fee Free Park

Oregon:

Crater Lake: $30 per car

South Carolina:

Congaree: Fee Free Park

South Dakota:

Badlands: $30 per car

Wind Caves: Fee Free Park

Texas:

Big Bend: $30 per car

Guadalupe Mountains: $10 per person

US Virgin Islands- Fee Free park- May have additional Fees depending on where you go

Utah:

Arches: $30 per car

Bryce Canyon: $35 per car

Canyonlands: $30 per car

Capitol Reef: $20 per car

Zion:  $35 per car

Virginia: 

Shenandoah: $30 per car

Washington:

Mount Rainier: $30 per car

North Cascades: Fee Free Park

Olympic: $30 per car

West Virginia:

New River Gorge: Fee Free Park

Wyoming: 

Grand Teton: $35 per car

Yellowstone: $35 per car



In the summer of 2021 I would have spent over $150 in entrance fees to parks, forests and historic sites, but saved over 70 (a tank of gas in California) by having this pass. 

I have a few roadtrips over the next few years planned for Colorado and Utah and my National Park Pass is on the top of those packing lists. 




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