The other day, I was reading an article on Staycations. In that article, the gal talks about finding inexpensive staycation and vacation ideas close to home, such as State and National Parks.
It occurred to me that I’ve been holding out on you guys! I’ve been happily enjoying free visits to National Parks for a long time now, and I’ve never let you in on my secret!
(Granted, it might not be that big of a secret for all of you – but I’m sure there are at least some of you who have never heard of this hack for getting families into National Parks for free.)
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Including Field Trips In Your Child’s Education
As parents, we know the value of a good field trip.
Who doesn’t love a good field trip? Field trips are a great way to break up the mundane of the every day. Field trips are also a great way to reinforce learning – either learning of a particular topic or learning about life in general.
Our family loves going on field trips. I try to schedule at least one field trip a week, if not more. We go to all kinds of places. When it comes to a field trip, the sky’s the limit! Most families would agree when I say field trips are awesome and should definitely be enjoyed more often.
So why don’t more families go on field trips more often?
Oftentimes, it comes down to cost. Field trips can be expensive. And those that aren’t terribly expensive tend to be overdone and therefore a tad dull. (I’m just saying.) And that’s so sad because shouldn’t we all be able to enjoy America the Beautiful without having to worry about hurting our budgets?
Homeschooling families are always looking for a new way to save money on homeschool field trips.
Today, I’m here to share with you my favorite tip for getting into U.S. National Parks. In fact, this tip is even better than a National Park Discount Ticket!
How would you like to get into National Parks for free? Zero entrance fee every day? For a YEAR?
You read that right. Keep reading to find out how.
This Tip Is Even Better Than A U.S. National Park Discount Ticket!
If you’ve been around the homeschooling community for very long, you might already be familiar with this tip.
Did you know that the National Government gives away free passes to 4th-graders every year? It’s true! Every 4th-grader in the United States can become a year-long pass holder – a free U.S. National Park pass.
This pass will get your child, your child’s family, and your child’s non-commercial vehicle into any National Park (including National Forests) in the country during operating service hours. I do not believe lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management are included in this access pass, but there are so many National forests and National parks, that’s not really the end of the world.
Why Are They Giving Away Free Tickets or a Free Annual Pass?
Why is the National Park Service giving young U.S. citizens free tickets to these parks?
The answer is simple! According to the parents’ section of the Every Kid in a Park website,
We chose fourth graders because research shows that kids ages nine to 11 are beginning to learn about the world around them. They’re open to new ideas, and they are likely to connect to nature and our history.
Every Kid in a Park
We offer the pass to fourth graders every year. Over time, every kid can get a free annual pass to explore our country.
Giving kids access to these annual passes allows everybody to grow up learning about their nation and their heritage. And we all know that learning about one’s heritage is a healthy part of growing up.
I first heard about this pass program years ago when my first was still a toddler. I thought it was the coolest thing and I made a mental note to look into it as he grew older. And that’s the last time I heard about it!
In all my years hanging out on homeschooling forums and in homeschooling groups, I never saw (or at least noticed) this program being mentioned again.
Miraculously, I remembered to look into it when my oldest entered 4th grade. The program was still running, so I signed him up! The process was incredibly easy. I’m surprised more people don’t know about this program.
Since then, I’ve noticed a few more homeschoolers talking about this tip. But not nearly enough people know about it, in my opinion.
And just so you know – this tip is NOT just for homeschoolers. Every 4th-grade child in the nation can take advantage of this cool program.
Get Your Free National Park Pass NOW!
Just go to everykidoutdoors.gov and follow the steps. It’s simple, it’s free, and you will be able to print off your new pass within minutes.
Now because this annual pass belongs to your 4th grader, he/she must be with you every time you enter a National Park or National Forest (including Federal Recreational Lands). But as long as you remember your favorite 4th grader, you’re good to go!
The first time you visit a National Park, bring your printed access pass with you. You’ll hand it to the nice person at the entrance gate, and it’ll get traded out for a nice little card. Keep that card in your wallet or in your family car so it’s with you every time you want to visit a new National Park.
So far we have only had the chance to visit The Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National Park. But we hope to visit many many more great federal recreation sites. Because this is America the Beautiful and there is so much to see.
In the meantime, I found this great article that walks you through some tips for visiting National Parks. Hopefully, you find some great information there!
Remember, these passes are non-transferable and your 4th grader must be with you in order to use the annual pass. And I believe these access passes are only available to permanent residents (U.S. citizens).
So tell me – what park are you going to visit first?
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This Tip Is Even Better Than A National Park Discount Ticket!
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KC
Monday 26th of September 2022
This is so AMAZING! I have been in education for over 35 years and I sure wish I had known about it! I am grateful that my grandchildren will soon be able to utilize this. Thank you so much for sharing!!