Is Buying an annual America the Beautiful Pass for National Parks Worth It?

The America the Beautiful pass is a yearly pass that gets you into all 63 US National Parks, as well as all federally-managed land, and that includes National Monuments, National Historic Sites, Lakeshores, and more. In short, buying this pass allows you to access over 2,000 sites around the United States.

And – it’s only $80! But is it worth it? Let’s discuss!

How the America the Beautiful Park Pass Works and where to buy

Like I mentioned above, for $80, you’ll have access to all 63 of the US National Parks and all federally-managed land. This means you don’t need to pay an entrance fee when you arrive. You have access to all of these spots that charge a fee for your $80.

You can purchase the America the Beautiful pass at any manned National Park/monument/etc entrance station. Not all National Parks/Monuments/Historical Sites/etc charge an entrance fee, and not all entrance stations are manned. For example, while there is a fee to enter Death Valley National Park, there are no manned entrance stations; you pay your fee at an automated ticket machine. (However, you can buy the pass at the visitor center). If you are visiting a park with an entrance station, you will see a sign for “Interagency Pass – $80” – this is the America the Beautiful pass.

When you buy your pass at the entrance station, the pass is good for a year from when you bought it. So the ranger will punch the card for the month one year after you buy it (buy the pass in June 2024, it’s good until 6/30/2025) and have you sign the pass on the spot. Typically, you are required to show ID when presenting the pass at the entrance station, and the ranger will make sure the signatures match.

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Select groups may get an America the Beautiful park pass for a discount or for free. This includes:

• Family with a child in the 4th grade
• Military veteran
• Senior Citizen 65+
• US citizens with permanent disabilities
• National Park Service volunteers

If any of these pertain to you, check for more information on the NPS.gov site.

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The pass is good for everyone in your car. So if you are traveling in one personal vehicle, the pass gets the whole car in. If, by chance, you’re traveling with two vehicles, you’ll either need two passes or the people traveling in the other vehicle will need to pay the park entrance fee

Some sites charge per person – if you visit one of these sites, your pass allows entry for up to 4 people in your party.

If you happen to be traveling at the end of the month – say you’re entering the park on June 30th – your new park pass technically should be punched for June. So you may want to wait, if you can, to enter the next day so your pass gets punched for July and you get another month of use out of your pass. Sometimes when you’re at the tail end of a month, the rangers are nice and will stamp it for the next month, but you can’t count on this.

You can also buy your America the Beautiful pass ahead of time (through the mail or from REI), but I don’t recommend it for two reasons:

1.) The park where you buy the pass gets the funds for that pass purchase: One year I bought mine at Craters of the Moon National Monument – I suspect they don’t get a lot of annual park pass purchases by the excitement of the ranger when I purchased mine.

2.) You get the most use out of it. For example, say you have a National Park trip planned for summer, but you buy the pass from REI for yourself as a Christmas gift. Your pass is good for 12 months after you purchase it and REI sells the pass pre-punched. You buy it in December and won’t use it until June – well, that’s 6 months of it wasting away in your wallet with no use, and it expires that upcoming December. You buy it in the park when you enter in June and now it’s good until June of next year, and perhaps you’ll have another trip planned the following June, where you can use it again. Also, if you buy it ahead of time, there is always the chance you could forget it – and there is no way for a ranger to look up that you own a pass, so you’ll have to pay the park fee.

There is no benefit to buying the pass ahead of time. National Parks do not have an express lane for pass holders (sometimes this does happen but more often than not, you will have to wait in the same line with everyone else).

How to use the America the Beautiful National Park Pass

When entering a National Park Service unit, simply show the ranger your pass along with your ID at the entrance station and you’re good to go! If the park does not have an entrance station but charges a fee (some National Forest trailhead parking lots do this), simply place your pass on your dashboard, or use the hangtag given to you when you first purchased the pass. I always misplace the hangtag, so it just goes on my dashboard.

The America the Beautiful Park Pass Doesn’t Cover Everything!

It covers standard entrance fees or trailhead parking fees – and that’s it. It does not cover any other activities. For example – the America the Beautiful pass would not cover:

• Ride to the top of the Gateway Arch
• Shuttle bus fee to Devil’s Postpile National Monument
• Boat ride and tour of Alcatraz
• Shuttle bus in Denali National Park

There is also no discounts with the pass – no permit fee discounts, camping or lodging discounts, or discounts in the gift shops.

The pass does not cover state parks or privately-managed land use fees. Many people try to use their America the Beautiful pass at a state park, only to be disappointed!

Don’t lose the America the Beautiful Pass!

The America the Beautiful Pass cannot be replaced if lost or stolen, so keep it in a safe place. I always keep mine in my wallet with my credit cards and never take it out. That way, I won’t lose it and it’s always at the ready in case I happen upon a National Park Service-managed site I want to visit!

Additionally (and I mentioned this before but it’s worth saying again), if you forget your pass at home, the park rangers cannot look up your pass to see that you purchased it. You’ll either have to buy a new pass (hey, look on the bright side and consider it a donation!) or pay the park fee.

Is Buying the America the Beautiful Pass Worth It?

Well…it depends. I know that’s a dumb answer, but it does. Personally, I always know that I’ll somehow end up at a National Park Service-managed site a few times throughout the year that I just automatically buy one after my previous year’s pass has expired, the next time I find myself at a National Park site. I don’t think too much about it – I used to try to do the math in my head – trying to figure out my personal travel plans for the next 12 months…and then deciding against it, only to find myself at another site, paying another entrance fee, when I should’ve just purchased the pass in the first place.

So now I just buy it. I always get my money’s worth – and even if I didn’t, I just consider it a donation to the park.

Some of the National Parks and Monuments fees are quite expensive. A visit to the Grand Canyon will set you back $35 for the entrance fee. All you have to do is visit another National Park (like Arches) and a National Monument within 12 months and you have your money’s worth.

If you’re headed to Yellowstone and the Tetons this summer, visiting both of these parks will cost $70, so you might as well buy the pass. A lot of folks hit up Devil’s Tower National Monument when driving out here, so right there, that’s $105 in park fees. See what I mean? Buy the pass!

If you know your travel plans for the next year and you have your trips planned out ahead for the next year, and you know you have no room in your schedule for a spontaneous trip to Joshua Tree National Park, you might want to skip the pass. For example – in the spring, you have a family trip to the Grand Canyon. Later on in the year, you’re going to Disney. And finally, over the holidays, you’re going to visit family up north — with all of that, you have no room for more vacations. So in that case, skip the pass, pay the fee and be on your way.

So there you have it! Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide if the price of the annual pass is ‘worth it’ or not. I always think it’s a good thing to have every year, but I also love visiting these National Park units and taking road trips and, well, just driving aimlessly around the country. Have fun planning your next National Park trip!

Do you buy an America the Beautiful annual park pass? Is it worth it to you? Let me know in the comments!