The price of a lifetime senior pass for U.S. National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands is going up significantly on August 28 from $10 to $80. The National Park Service says this is the first increase since 1994.
Current lifetime senior passes will remain valid. $10 passes will be available through August 27th.
“The fee increase helps to pay for visitor amenities and other improvements in national parks and other federal lands,” Acadia National Park spokesman John Kelly.
An annual Senior Pass can also be purchased for $20. Four annual Senior Passes purchased in prior years can be traded in for a lifetime pass.
US citizens or permanent residents 62 years or older are eligible for the Senior Pass. In addition to recreation sites managed by the National Park Service the senior passes passes provide access to facilities managed by five other agencies such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The fee increase was mandated by Congress as part of December 2016 legislation to raise money to pay for park projects and visitor services. That legislation requires the price of the lifetime Senior Pass to be the same as the Interagency Annual Pass, which is currently $80 for one year, according to the park service.
Passes can be purchased online at store.usgs.gov.
