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I'm 57 and while in some ways I'm glad the senior pass exists (I intend to eventually buy one) I don't understand why seniors ought to believe they have the right to use the national parks at a rate lower than everyone else has to pay. The reduced fee pass is a gift not an entitlement.
The next time you visit a national park take a good look around at the infrastructure. Do the roads seem like they need repair? Are the roads too narrow for all the RV's and buses that are using them? Is the visitor center too small for the crowds that are using the park? Are there not enough spaces in the campground?
National parks are faced with a funding dilemma. Much of their infrastructure was designed fifty or sixty years ago and little has been done to update it. Congress doesn't budget enough to cover the needs of the parks. The parks should be deriving healthy fees from concessionaires (the people who operate restaurants and the park lodge), but they don't because laws limit how much of a percentage of revenue the government can collect.
Out of all the money I pay the government, the part I probably resent the least are park entrance fees. I know my money is going to help keep a beautiful place in good shape.
One problem I have with people in the older age group is how insular many become. There is a whole world out there with all kinds of needs. Many seniors can easily afford to pay standard park entrance fees or the fee for an annual pass. The national parks will be a bargain for me whether I can get a pass with reduced rate or not when I turn 62.
I agree the pass is a gift as are the parks themselves and that the parks could use more money, but totally disagree with your statement that many people in the older group become insular.
The next time you visit one of the national parks, take a moment from looking at the majestic beauty or tsk'ing over the infrastructure and turn around to observe the volunteers and docents. Many, if not all, are retirees, doing something they love on a volunteer basis. The parks would be lesser places without them and the gift of their time.
The definition of insular fits more than just older people.
in·su·lar ˈins(y)ələr/
adjective
1.
ignorant of or uninterested in cultures, ideas, or peoples outside one's own experience.
"a stubbornly insular farming people"
synonyms: narrow-minded, small-minded, inward-looking, parochial, provincial, small-town, shortsighted, hidebound, blinkered;
Yes, there is. It's an annual pass, and it costs $80. (Which is one reason I can't get too upset about the upcoming price increase on the lifetime senior pass: steep though the price increase may seem to be, they're just raising the price to equal the current price of the annual pass.)
For purposes of this program, a veteran is identified as an individual who has served in the U.S. Armed Forces, including the National Guard and Reserves, and is able to present one of the following forms of identification when entering a national park:
Department of Defense Identification Card (CAC Card)
Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)
Veteran ID Card
Veterans designation on a state-issued U.S. driver’s license or identification card
Golden Access card is even better. Eligibility at any age. Just a letter from a doctor, stating medical disability. Free, lifetime .
Increasingly, National Parks is subcontracting in-park amenities to private concessionaires, who refuse to accept these cards' This may include parking, so you pay to drive in anyway. Gotcha.
Veterans, including those who served in the National Guard and Reserve, can claim a free America the Beautiful Pass by presenting a valid Department of Defense Identification Card, Veteran Health Identification Card, Veteran ID card or a Veteran-designated state ID.
That's from the article Volosong posted. Still sounds to me like they need a pass.
But I just read the article you posted and by that one it doesn't sound like a pass is needed-just the items you listed.
Confusing.
When I was living in Tucson (up until mid-October), I often rode my bike around the Saguaro National Park loop road. When the entrance booth was staffed, I showed my National Park Pass and my ID. There is no photo on the Park Pass, so they check that the name on the park pass matches your ID.
The park pass also allows free parking inside National Forest parking areas, just display your park pass from a hanger around the rear view mirror or on the dashboard.
Veterans, including those who served in the National Guard and Reserve, can claim a free America the Beautiful Pass by presenting a valid Department of Defense Identification Card, Veteran Health Identification Card, Veteran ID card or a Veteran-designated state ID.
That's from the article Volosong posted. Still sounds to me like they need a pass.
But I just read the article you posted and by that one it doesn't sound like a pass is needed-just the items you listed.
Confusing.
My quote came directly from the National Park Service so I’ve got that going for me.
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