A veteran can pull up to Sequoia National Park on a Thursday in July, bring the family along in the car and owe nothing at the entrance station. That’s worth knowing on the eve of Veterans Day, when the attention tends to go to what’s free for just one Wednesday.
On November 11, national parks that ordinarily charge admission will waive the entrance fee for U.S. citizens and residents. Veterans and eligible Gold Star family members can pick up a pass that lasts the rest of their lives.
The National Park Service explains how to get one. If your state puts a veteran designation on your driver’s license, you can show that license at a participating park or federal recreation site and leave with a free Military Lifetime Pass.
An eligible Defense Department ID, a Veteran Health Identification Card or the VA’s digital Veteran ID Card works, too. The program includes veterans who served in the National Guard or the Reserves, and eligible Gold Star family members can bring the agency’s printed voucher.
Here’s where the pass makes a difference for a family. At a park that charges by the vehicle, it covers everyone riding with the passholder in one private, noncommercial car.
At a site that charges by the person, it covers the passholder and up to three other people age 16 or older. A campsite, a reservation fee or a guided tour can still cost money, so check those prices before promising the grandkids a weekend away.
People serving in the military today and their eligible dependents can get a free annual pass. Both versions also work on participating federal lands outside the national parks, including national wildlife refuges and national forests that collect a standard day-use fee.
There’s a reason Sequoia belongs in this story. Long before an American family could drive into the Giant Forest, somebody had to build a road wide enough for a wagon.
The National Park Service tells the story of Army Captain Charles Young, who set off from San Francisco’s Presidio in May 1903 with two troops of the Ninth Cavalry. Sequoia was some 285 miles away, and the outfit brought 20 draft mules, with civilian packers and teamsters to help make the trip.
The Park Service itself was still 13 years away. That summer, Young served as acting superintendent, and on June 11 he put a civilian crew to work on the road into the Giant Forest.
Young managed 60 men over the summer, including Walter Fry, who would become Sequoia’s first civilian superintendent. By late August, Young could report back to Washington on a stretch of road visitors could actually use.
The crew had its own way of marking opening day. Young and his men hitched mules to wagons and rode into the Giant Forest on the road they had just finished.
That tradition of looking after these places is still alive. On Tuesday, the Interior Department introduced Pat Sutton, a Marine veteran of two combat tours in Afghanistan who now helps care for the Marine Corps War Memorial in Virginia.
If you’re taking a veteran to a park on Wednesday, check whether the entrance station issues lifetime passes and bring the right ID along. Then ask where they’d like to go next summer.
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
The post Veterans and Gold Star Families Can Visit National Parks Free for Life appeared first on 100PercentFedUp.com.
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[H/T 100PercentFedUp]
