American the Beautiful National Parks and Recreational Lands Pass - Outdoor Gear Review

A funny thing happened in early 2007. The National Parks Annual Pass was no longer available, and in its place came this newfangled “interagency” pass. This pass was a little more expensive than the national parks pass, but unlike the parks pass, it covers entrance fees or standard amenity fees at just about every federal recreation site out there. This pass is good for recreation sites managed by the USDA Forest Service, the National Park Service, Unites States Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, and the Bureau of Reclamation.

These passes work very similarly to the old National Parks Pass, but with a few key changes. Unlike the parks pass, they are active from the date of purchase, rather than from the date of first use. So while it is possible to buy the pass online, it makes more sense to purchase it at the gate of the place you intend to visit and not activate it prematurely. The pass applies to single vehicles, and waives entrance or standard amenity fees at applicable sites for the passholder plus up to three additional people over the age of 16 traveling in the same vehicle.

The benefit of the pass is simplicity and versatility. It is more expensive than the National Park Annual pass that has been phased out, but with more and more other agencies charging entrance fees and standard amenity fees, the pass saves a lot of hassle for anyone who enjoys visiting public lands that are managed by multiple agencies.

Unfortunately, the pass only covers entrance fees and standard amenity fees. The current “pay to play” trend in many recreation areas is to charge additional amenity fees for hiking certain trails, accessing certain beaches and so on. The pass does not cover these fees, nor does it cover additional fees such as camping fees, parking fees, or any fee charged by a private concessionaire.