There are 2 passes military members can get for free: The Military Pass for Active Duty members of all branches and the Access Pass which former military can take advantage of by completing the VA process and showing proof of disability(which DOES NOT have to be 100%)
MILITARY PASS OVERVIEW
Free
Available to Current US military members and the dependents of deployed military in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard, as well as most members of the Current US Reserves and National Guard.
Proper military ID is required (CAC Card or DoD Form 1173).
Obtained in person at Federal recreation sites that charge entrance or standard amenity fees.
Covers entrance to Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service sites that charge Entrance Fees, and Standard Amenity Fees at Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation sites.
Admits the pass owners and any accompanying passengers in a private non-commercial vehicle at per vehicle fee areas, or the pass owner and up to additional 3 adults at sites that charge per person.
Non-transferable
ACCESS PASS OVERVIEW
For full details about the ACCESS PASS click HERE
My Personal Experience: I have known about this deal for military members for a long time, but it took me over 3.5yrs to stop being lazy and go through the process to get my pass. I have to admit that had the people from the park services not come to base I still might not have my pass, lol! But I made a point to make my way over to them and finally stop putting it off. I am excited for this because this guarantees many adventures for spring and summer of 2019.
Obtaining the pass was easy, and though I did mine on base I have been told the process is just as easy at a park offering the service. I had to present my Military ID, then I was issued a card which the park service member wrote the number of for their records, they punched in an expiration date for the same month of the following year(1yr of free entry before you need to re-validate and receive a new card), finally I signed the back of the card and was handed a little bit of additional information along with a hanging placard for my rear view mirror.
As I was receiving my card I asked whether this was only for Active Duty, because I work with a retired veteran who frequents many parks, yet he himself had not asked about passes. This is when I found out about the Access Pass, this pass is a for life pass and only needs to be re-issued to you if you lose or damage your original one. My blog's purpose is to bring awareness to these types of things available to vets. It surprised me that my co-worker had never gained this knowledge until I was able to bring it to his attention. I hope this blog is able to reach many others who lack this knowledge. Know this now, I will definitely be applying for an Access Pass once I am no longer in service.
Please continue to check back in with my blog, as I will share any experiences I have using my Military Pass and in the future my Access Pass. I also came across the following article from Your RV Lifestyle, where they compiled a list of 100 best things to do in Colorado. Among the list are some of the National Parks you can visit using your newly acquired pass!
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