How To: Making the Most of Your National Park Annual Pass

Buying a National Park annual pass can be a great investment for you, your friends, your family, and, of course, the National Park Service (NPS). The cost of the pass is reasonable, though it has gone up a bit in the past year (it was $50 and now it is $80). It allows free and unlimited access to any National Park or Federal recreation area (basically if the NPS runs it, it's free) for you along with all the occupants of a non-commercial vehicle, or up to three persons where individual fees are charged. With popular parks like Grand Canyon and Glacier charging $25/vehicle or seashores like Canaveral in Florida charging upwards $6 per person, the $80 initial charge can quickly become a great deal. That said, here's some tips on how to really make the most of your pass and get your full value's worth.

Before you buy
Look at the different pass options at (https://pwrcms.nps.gov/pwr/fees_passes.htm). The main pass, the America the Beautiful pass, is the most widely relevant, however, there is a pass for senior citizens (age 62+) that is the same exact pass for only $10. Additionally Americans with disabilities can obtain a full access pass for free. Also, take note that anyone under the age of 16 gains free entry to all National Parks and Federal recreation areas.
While you may opt for the ease of purchasing your pass over the internet or phone, it really behooves you to wait to buy until you are at the park gate. The price is the exact same, you will for sure get your pass in time for your trip, and you have to wait in line at the gate whether you already have a pass or not. Also, if you buy at the gate, you could potentially gain some time on your pass. Online it says that it is valid for 12 months from the date you purchase the pass, however, this is only partially true. The pass is valid for 12 months from the month you purchase the pass, meaning if you buy it July 1, 2008, your pass is valid through July 30, 2009, thus you gain a month.
Plan your trip first. It sounds obvious, but if you are only going to the Grand Canyon for a five day vacation then heading back home, there is no sense in buying a pass since it is a $25 per vehicle entry fee. Call the different parks or look online for their entrance fees. Glacier National Park is a $25 vehicle entry fee (hikers/bikers are less), whereas the Smokey Mountains National Park is free. If you do not expect to go to enough parks over the course of a year to equal $80, the monetary value is quite obviously not there.

Visiting the Parks
While the pass gains you little but entry to the park money saving-wise, the rangers always seemed nicer to me when they see I have a pass. The NPS makes it easy to enjoy your visit to its fullest potential based on your interests. As you come in the gate, the ranger gives you a brochure to the park, which includes the all important map, along with another very important item: the newsletter (not all parks have these, but the larger ones often do). The newsletter comes full of useful information for your time there including trail maps and descriptions, safety tips, common wildlife in the area, a brief history of the park, sunrise and sunset times, the lunar cycle (especially if they have lunar-based programs), and many other things.
A definite tip to enjoy your visit is to talk to the rangers. They usually live at the parks and are often happy to talk to people who they do not work with every single day. They go through intense training to become a ranger; make sure to take advantage of this. If curious about an aspect of the park's geology or archeology, ask and you shall receive an answer. At first rangers at the busier parks may be hesitant to give more than the stock answer that most people are looking for, but if you stick around and keep asking, they will divulge more than one could ever expect a person to know. If a ranger does not know they answer, he/she will find another ranger who does. Park rangers often move from park to park, so they may know a good deal about other parks as well.
Be aware however that some of the people working are not park rangers, but rather volunteers. These individuals, while intelligent and friendly, do not have the deep vat of knowledge that the rangers somehow have shoved into their heads. Difference in uniform is the easiest way to determine a ranger from another worker or volunteer.
Speaking of park rangers, do not overlook the Ranger Chats, Ranger Walks, and Ranger Hikes. While these are sometimes aimed more at children, there are many that are not. Where else can you learn how many states the California Condor lives in, how to tell the difference between a crow and a raven, that the Grand Canyon is the bottom of the ocean floor (and see the fossils right under your feet that prove it), or what the heck that really really tall plant is (a century plant)? And those are all just from the Grand Canyon's programs. In addition to educational programs, many parks offer evening and nighttime programs that are more geared at entertainment, for instance, the Grand Canyon gives a history of the people of the Grand Canyon chat, which turns into a ghost story after the last of dusk's light has gone. While having autonomy with yourself, family, and/or friends is vital on a park visit, by participating in Ranger lead programs you can learn so much.
When driving in the park, whether through the scenic drives and just around the park, make sure to go slow. This is not just because the parks generally have low speed limits, but because you never know when you will see fascinating animals. Once in Yellowstone National Park we saw a moose from the road. Moose are fairly uncommon to see because they mostly travel alone and do not come close to hiking trails very often. Had we been whizzing by, we would have missed such a treat.

You may ask yourself, “What if I don't spend up all $80 of my pass?” The answer is simple: No big deal. All you have done is financially helped the NPS continue to care for our parks, and you have also caused less human damage by not going to as many parks. Teddy Roosevelt would surely have approved of that.