A wise purchasing decision we made on this trip is buying the annual US Interagency pass: America the Beautiful for $80 at the first national park fee area we came to. What we didn’t know at the time was this pass would save us hundreds of dollars, not to mention we visited several interesting places we would have likely passed if we had to pay.
Anyone can purchase the pass, including Canadians, and it provides unlimited visits for a full year from date of purchase. It can be used to gain entry at National Parks and Monuments, historical sites and museums, and all day use fee areas managed by several different federal agencies. The pass owner and passengers in a vehicle gain hassle free entrance at any gate, or, the owner and up to three adults can gain entry at sites where per person fees are charged. To give an example of what you can save, each of the national parks we visited charge a $30-$35 vehicle fee that is good for 1 – 10 consecutive days. Even if you have a camping pass for the park, the entrance fee is on top of the camping fee (unlike state parks where the camping fee gets you free access to the day use areas). Many of the per person fees for museums and historical sites were $10 a person. Below is a list of some of the places we visited with the pass. I just want to add that even with the $35 fee, these national parks and monuments are so amazing that it is good value with or without the pass.
Oregon:
Yaquina Head Lighthouse – visitor centre/museum, lighthouse tour, hiking trails, picnic
Cape Perpetua (Siuslaw National Forest) – hiking trails, picnic and coastal beach access
California
Redwoods National Park
- Avenue of the Giants – 31 mile drive through the redwoods, museum and hiking trails, picnic
- Prairie Creek State Park ( includes national park pass access) – Fern Canyon Hike, Lady Bird Johnson trail(s), scenic drive
Joshua Tree – scenic drives, picnic, hiking ( went two times, once with Caitlin)
Arizona
Saguaro National Park – hiking, scenic drive and picnic spots
Montezuma Castle National Monument – museum, trail, historical ruins
Tuzigoot National Monument – historical ruins, museum,trail
Grand Canyon – trails, picnic, historical ruins, shuttles, museums
New Mexico
White Sands National Monument – scenic drive, picnic, trails
Utah
Canyonlands National Park – scenic drive, trails
Arches National Park – scenic drive, trails
Zion National Park – trails, shuttle service, museum
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area – Lake Powell, Lone Rock campground
Another park pass to consider is the New Mexico State Park pass. For $225, you get access to camping at 30 state parks for one year from date of purchase. The pass covers $10 of the camping fee. If you stay in a primative site (no hookups), there is no additional fee while you pay $4 if your site has electricity, and possibly water and an additional $8 if sewer hookup is included. So for a campsite, after 22 nights, you would then be camping for free. Some of the parks we visited looked amazing.
You can also buy an annual day use pass for $40. You can purchase your pass at any state campground or online.
Finally, it goes without saying that the Canada Park’s annual pass is a great bargain, especially if you plan to spend a few days in Banff or Jasper. It is around $136 and is good for over 80 locations across Canada.