National Park Lifetime Senior Pass Deadline Nears

Above, the bottom of Lower Yosemite Falls. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The deadline is fast approaching!

Here's another reminder for those of you who are age 62 and up that the national park lifetime senior pass will go up $70 on August 28.

The Ledger-Enquirer wrote:

The deadline is fast approaching for those National Park Service fans who are planning to visit as many of America’s scenic and historic destinations as possible in their retirement years. 

U.S. citizens and permanent residents age 62 and older have until Aug. 27 to purchase a lifetime senior park pass for $10, rather than the $80 it will cost starting Aug. 28. The $10 fee has been in effect since 1994, but federal legislation passed last year increased the fee. 

There are 59 national parks in the United States and its territories, with nearly 120 more national monuments. Not all of them charge an entrance fee, such as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park that straddles the Tennessee-North Carolina border. In fact, only 118 of 417 National Park Service sites do charge to enter it. 

But many of the iconic parks in the West — such as Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Zion, Arches and Rocky Mountain — do have fees to enter them and the charges can pinch the wallet. For instance, Yellowstone, America’s first national park, charges $30 per private vehicle and $25 per motorcyle. The passes also allow the official holder and three additional adults to enter a site that charges a per-person fee for free.

Now is the time to hop out of your rocking chairs and get your lifetime Senior Pass before the price goes up.

To read more, go here.