Bureau of Reclamation - Recreation

America the Beautiful – The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass Program

Interested in visiting a federal recreation facility? Members of the public have a number of pass options to use at federal recreation sites where entrance or standard amenity fees are charged. If you are interested in visiting, you can decide if the Annual, Senior, Access, Volunteer, or Every Kid in a Park 4th Grade pass is the best option for you.

Our New Melones and Lake Berryessa Field Offices in California are the only Reclamation offices that sell or accept the passes. Additionally, Canyon Ferry and Shasta Lake accept the passes.Reclamation’s non-federal partners or concessionaires are not authorized to accept or sell the passes.

Get Your Passes

Pass options at federal recreation sites are:

1. Interagency Annual: $80 annually and covers the entrance fee for the owner of the pass to most federal parks.
2. Interagency Senior Life: $80 for U.S. citizens 62 and older and is good for life for entrance fees and discounts on other amenities.
3. Interagency Senior Annual: $20 for U.S. citizens 62 and older and is good for 12 months from the date of purchase. Covers the entrance fee and discounts on other amenities.
4. Interagency Access: free for U.S citizens that provide proper documentation of permanent disability and is good for life for entrance fees and discounts on other amenities.
5. Interagency Military: free for active U.S military and their dependents with proper documentation and is good for 1 year on entrance fees.
6. Interagency Military Lifetime: free for U.S. veterans and Gold Star Family members with proper documentation. Good for life for entrance fees.
7. Interagency Volunteer: free in exchange for 250 hours of documented volunteer work. Please contact participating Federal recreation sites to find out about volunteering opportunities and to sign up to start documenting hours.
8. Every Kid Outdoors: free for U.S. 4th graders with preprinted voucher that can be obtained by visiting the website. The pass entitles the pass holder and up to four accompanying passengers in a non-commercial vehicle entrance to federal parks and expires at the end of the school year.

You can learn more about the Pass Program and purchase the Annual, Senior, Access, or Military passes online from the U.S. Geologic Survey here.

The Volunteer Pass is issued by federal agencies to volunteers and cannot be purchased by the general public. The interagency passes replace the Golden Eagle Pass, Golden Age Pass, Golden Access Passports, and the National Parks Pass. Existing passes remain valid until expired, lost, or stolen. Passes are available at federal recreation sites that charge a Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act entrance or standard amenity fee, through government Internet sites, and through select third-party vendors.

Because federal recreation sites have to meet certain criteria to be a part of the Pass Program, not all federal recreation sites accept or sell the passes. Before you visit or make a reservation at any federal recreation site, please visit Places to Get Interagency Passes (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) to find out if your intended recreation area sells or accepts the passes. http://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/pickup-pass-locations.htm to find out if your intended recreation area sells or accepts the passes.

Background of the Pass Program

In 2004, the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (REA) authorized several federal agencies to charge fees at federal recreation sites. These sites had to meet certain criteria and would reinvest a majority of the revenues into enhancing the site. America the Beautiful – The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass Program established by REA provides a number of pass options for the public to use at federal recreation sites where entrance or standard amenity fees are charged.

Share the Experience Photo Contest

If you would like to participate in the Share the Experience Photo Contest to be placed on the next America the Beautiful Annual Pass, in which the winning photo will be displayed on the front of the pass, please visit the Share the Experience website.