Golden Age Passport

Let me share with you of one of the advantages of having some gray hair and wrinkles. If you are age 62 or over, please take the time to stop by a National Forest office or a National Park and get a Golden Age Passport. This little card costs only $10 but it is good for your lifetime. With this card in your possession, you (and your partner) get free admission into any of our National Parks, and you also get a 50 percent discount on camping fees in the parks.

For a one-time $10 investment, the Golden Age Passport is a wonderful bargain.

For those of you who are more up-to-date than some of us older folks, yes, the Golden Age Passport has been discontinued as of January 1, 2007—but it has been replaced by a newer pass. The Federal wordsmiths have christened the new replacement card as "America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass – Senior Pass." (Whew, what a mouthful!) The cost is still only $10, and is good for your lifetime.

For those of you with a permanent disability, the former Golden Access pass (which was free to disabled individuals), has also been discontinued—but it has also been replaced by a newer version "America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass– Access Pass." This pass continues to be free of charge for disabled individuals.

If you would like to get more details about these, and other, National Park passes, the National Park Service has an excellent web site where you can glean lots of useful information.