National Park Pass Guide 2026: Prices, Free Passes and Reservations

The national park pass most people mean is the America the Beautiful pass. As of 2026 it costs $80 a year for US citizens and residents and $250 for nonresidents, and it covers entrance at every national park plus standard day-use fees at thousands of other federal recreation sites. Seniors 62 and older pay $20 a year or $80 for life, and several groups get it free: current military and their dependents, veterans, Gold Star families, 4th graders and people with a permanent disability.

The 2026 season brought the biggest changes to park fees in years. Nonresidents now pay an extra $100 per person at 11 of the busiest parks, fee-free days are for US residents only, and several parks dropped their timed-entry systems while others kept them. Here is how it all works, with the rules as published by the National Park Service.

Every national park pass and what it costs in 2026

All passes below belong to the America the Beautiful series and work the same way at the gate. The differences are price and who qualifies.

You can buy or order any of them on Recreation.gov, through the USGS Store, or in person at a park entrance or visitor center. Since January 1, 2026 every pass is available as a digital version that loads on your phone right away. A mailed plastic card can take up to three weeks, so order early if you want the physical card before a trip.

What the pass covers, and what it doesn’t

At a park that charges per vehicle, the pass admits the pass holder and everyone in one private, non-commercial vehicle. At a site that charges per person, it covers the pass holder plus three other adults. Children 15 and under enter national parks free anyway. For motorcycles, one pass now covers two motorcycles.

The pass is non-transferable, so the person who signed it (or whose name is on the digital version) has to be there with ID. You can’t lend it to a friend for the weekend.

Beyond national parks, the pass covers entrance and standard amenity (day-use) fees at sites run by the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Reclamation and US Army Corps of Engineers. That includes many trailhead parking fees and day-use areas that beginners often forget about.

What it does not cover:

• Campground fees (the Senior and Access passes give a 50 percent discount on some of these)
• Timed-entry or permit reservation fees, such as the $2 Recreation.gov processing fee at Rocky Mountain
• Backcountry and wilderness permits
• Tours, boat trips, shuttles and lodging run by concessioners
• State parks, which have their own passes and fees

The new rules for nonresidents

International visitors saw two changes in 2026. First, the annual pass for nonresidents costs $250 instead of $80. Second, nonresidents aged 16 and older who don’t have an annual pass pay a $100 per person fee on top of the regular entrance fee at 11 parks:

• Acadia
• Bryce Canyon
• Everglades
• Glacier
• Grand Canyon
• Grand Teton
• Rocky Mountain
• Sequoia and Kings Canyon
• Yellowstone
• Yosemite
• Zion

The math is simple. A family of four adults from abroad visiting Yellowstone without a pass pays $35 for the car plus $400 in nonresident fees. With the $250 pass, the pass holder and three adults in the party are covered at every one of those parks. According to the NPS nonresident fee FAQ, rangers ask for proof of US residency, such as a US passport, a US driver’s license or state ID, or a green card. US residents traveling with international friends should carry ID too.

Free and discounted passes: who qualifies

Seniors

US citizens and permanent residents aged 62 or older can buy the Senior Annual Pass for $20 or the Senior Lifetime Pass for $80. Four annual passes can be traded in toward a lifetime pass. Bring proof of age and residency. If you are 62 and plan to keep visiting parks, the lifetime pass is the obvious buy.

Military, veterans and Gold Star families

Current service members and their dependents get a free Military Annual Pass. Veterans and Gold Star family members get a free Military Lifetime Pass. At the gate, veterans can show a Department of Defense ID, a Veteran Health Identification Card, the VA’s digital Veteran ID Card, or a veteran designation on a state driver’s license or ID.

People with a permanent disability

The Access Pass is free and lasts for life. You need documentation of a permanent disability, such as a physician’s statement or proof of federal disability benefits. Like the Senior Pass, it can halve some campground fees.

4th graders

Through the Every Kid Outdoors program, every US 4th grader (including home-schooled kids of 4th-grade age) can print a paper voucher and swap it for a free annual pass. It runs from September 1 through August 31 of the following year, so a child in 4th grade in 2026 to 2027 is covered until August 31, 2027. That summer is the one to plan a big park road trip, since the whole car gets in free.

Is the annual pass worth it?

Most large national parks charge $30 to $35 per private vehicle for a 7-day entry. Yellowstone, for example, charges $35. That puts the break-even point at the third visit.

A common mistake is paying the entrance fee at the first park of a road trip and then buying the annual pass at the second. If the trip includes three fee-charging parks, buy the pass at the first one.

Fee-free days in 2026

On these eight dates, entrance fees are waived at every fee-charging national park, according to the NPS fee-free days page:

• February 16 (Presidents Day)
• May 25 (Memorial Day)
• June 14 (Flag Day)
• July 3 to 5 (Independence Day weekend)
• August 25 (the National Park Service’s 110th birthday)
• September 17 (Constitution Day)
• October 27 (Theodore Roosevelt’s birthday)
• November 11 (Veterans Day)

Since 2026, the free entry applies only to US citizens and residents. Nonresidents pay the normal fee and any nonresident fee. Free days also mean bigger crowds, especially the July weekend, and they don’t waive camping or reservation fees.

Timed entry and reservations in 2026

A pass gets you through the gate, but a handful of parks and roads also require a reservation during peak season. In 2026 the rules loosened at several parks. The NPS announced in February 2026 that Arches, Glacier and Yosemite would not use park-wide timed entry this year. That doesn’t mean unlimited access: parking lots still fill, and rangers can hold traffic at the entrance when they do.

At Rocky Mountain National Park, reservations open at 8 a.m. Mountain time on the first of the month before, and 40 percent of each day’s slots are released at 7 p.m. the evening before. That evening drop is the best chance for last-minute trips. Popular hikes elsewhere, like Angels Landing in Zion and Half Dome in Yosemite, run on permit lotteries that are separate from entrance.

Rules change year to year, and 2026 proves how fast. Check the park’s own “Plan Your Visit” page a few weeks before you go, and again the week of the trip.

Buying and carrying your pass

The digital pass on Recreation.gov is the fastest option. Download it to your phone before you drive in, because cell service at many entrance stations is weak or missing. Many parks have gone cashless, so carry a card for anything you still need to pay at the gate.

Once you’re in, the pass doesn’t plan the day for you. For the hiking itself, see what to pack for a day hike and how far you can realistically hike in a day. If you’re bringing a dog, read the pet rules in hiking with dogs first, because most national park trails are closed to pets. Staying overnight means a campground reservation on top of the pass; our guides on choosing a tent, sleeping bag temperature ratings and the car camping checklist cover the gear. For a wildlife trip to Katmai or Lake Clark, the Alaska bear viewing guide covers the fly-in side, and Leave No Trace principles apply on every trail you enter with that pass.

One last practical point: sign the physical card as soon as it arrives, or make sure the digital pass is in your name, and keep a photo ID with it. Because the pass is non-transferable, rangers can ask to see both, and nonresident fees mean ID checks are now routine at the 11 busiest parks.