dust and starlightThe America the Beautiful pass
The America the Beautiful pass is the federal annual pass. It costs $80 for US residents and $250 for nonresidents, and it lasts 12 months, to the end of the month you bought it in.
It covers entrance fees and standard day-use fees on land run by six federal agencies: the National Park Service, the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Army Corps of Engineers. Where a park charges by the vehicle, it covers the pass holder and everyone in one private car, or two motorcycles. Where it charges by the person, it covers the holder and three other adults. Children under 16 get in free either way. Each pass has one signature line, for one holder, who shows photo ID with it.
What it doesn't cover
- Camping, boat launching, parking, special tours, special permits and ferries.
- Services run by concessioners.
- State parks, and city or county areas.
Where to get it
- At a park entrance station or visitor center. More than 1,000 federal sites sell it.
- As a digital pass on Recreation.gov, which you save to your phone and can use right away.
- As a card from the USGS Store, plus $7.50 in fees. It comes by mail and can take up to three weeks.
The nonresident fee
Since January 1, 2026, visitors who aren't US residents pay an extra $100 per person, age 16 and over, at 11 of the busiest national parks. Of the parks we photograph, that's Bryce Canyon, Glacier, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion. The America the Beautiful pass, or the park's own annual pass, covers the fee for the holder and everyone in the car.
For a nonresident couple, Bryce Canyon and Zion alone come to $470 without a pass, one visit each: the vehicle fee plus $100 each, at every park. The $250 nonresident pass covers both for $220 less.
The National Park Service keeps the list of parks and the rules for the nonresident fee.
The other passes
| Pass | Price | Who it's for |
|---|---|---|
| Senior Pass, annual | $20 | US citizens and residents 62 and over |
| Senior Pass, lifetime | $80 | US citizens and residents 62 and over |
| Military Pass, annual | Free | Current US military members and their dependents |
| Military Pass, lifetime | Free | US military veterans and Gold Star Family members |
| Access Pass | Free | US citizens and residents with a permanent disability |
| 4th Grade Pass | Free | US 4th graders (and home-schooled learners of the same age), for the school year, September through August |
| Volunteer Pass | Free | Volunteers with 250 service hours at federal recreation sites |
A few days a year, the parks waive their entrance fees. As of 2026, those fee-free days are for US citizens and residents only. The Park Service lists this year's fee-free days.
Entrance fees at the parks we photograph
As of September 2026, from each park's fees page. Motorcycles and people on foot or bike pay less; each park's page has those rates.
| Park | Per vehicle | Valid | Nonresident fee | Park annual pass | Fees page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arches | $30 | Not stated | None | $55 | Arches fees on nps.gov |
| Bryce Canyon | $35 | 7 days | $100 per person | $70 | Bryce Canyon fees on nps.gov |
| Canyonlands | $30 | Not stated | None | $55 | Canyonlands fees on nps.gov |
| Glacier | $35 | 7 days | $100 per person | $70 | Glacier fees on nps.gov |
| Great Basin | No fee | None | Great Basin fees on nps.gov | ||
| Joshua Tree | $30 | 7 days | None | $55 | Joshua Tree fees on nps.gov |
| Yellowstone | $35 | 7 days | $100 per person | $70 | Yellowstone fees on nps.gov |
| Yosemite | $35 | 7 days | $100 per person | $70 | Yosemite fees on nps.gov |
| Zion | $35 | 7 days | $100 per person | $70 | Zion fees on nps.gov |
"Not stated" means the park's fees page doesn't say how long its vehicle pass lasts. Glacier charges $25 per vehicle from November 1 to April 30.
When the annual pass pays for itself
At $30 to $35 per vehicle, two parks don't cover the $80 pass: even two of the $35 parks, Bryce Canyon and Glacier, come to $70. Any three do. The three cheapest, Arches, Canyonlands and Joshua Tree, come to $90, $10 more than the pass.
A loop through the Utah parks we photograph, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands and Zion, is $130 in vehicle fees, $50 more than the pass. If Arches and Canyonlands are all you're visiting, their own Southeast Utah Parks annual pass ($55, Arches, Canyonlands, Natural Bridges and Hovenweep, for US residents) is the cheaper way in.
That's why we think the annual pass is quite worth the $80 for anyone visiting more than a couple of parks in a year. It also covers standard day-use fees at the Forest Service and BLM sites that charge them.
Outside the national parks
Several of the places we photograph are run by the BLM, the Forest Service, a state or a city, and the annual pass helps less there.
The Wave and Wire Pass
Coyote Buttes North permit: $7 per person, plus $6 for each lottery application. Wire Pass day use: $6 per person. The America the Beautiful pass doesn't cover these. Permits come only through the advance and daily lotteries on Recreation.gov. Dogs pay the same fee as people. The Wave (Coyote Buttes North): official page on recreation.gov
Coyote Buttes South
Coyote Buttes South permit: $5 per person, plus $6 for each reservation or lottery application. The America the Beautiful pass doesn't cover it. Coyote Buttes South: official page on recreation.gov
Page, Arizona
Horseshoe Bend parking: $10 per vehicle, $5 per motorcycle. The America the Beautiful pass doesn't cover it. Horseshoe Bend: official page on horseshoebend.co
Island Park and Sawtell Peak
Harriman State Park: $7 per vehicle. The America the Beautiful pass doesn't cover it. Harriman State Park: official page on parksandrecreation.idaho.gov
Sawtooth Mountains
Day use at developed sites such as Redfish Lake: $12 per vehicle, $10 at some sites. The America the Beautiful pass doesn't cover it. The concessionaire sells its own $100 annual day-use pass. Sawtooth National Recreation Area: official page on fs.usda.gov
Wasatch Mountains
Albion Basin Summer Road: $12 per vehicle. Parking at the Albion and Wildcat base areas, in the Town of Alta and at the Grizzly Gulch lot is free. Albion Basin: official page on alta.com
San Juan Islands
San Juan Island National Historical Park: no entrance fee. San Juan Island National Historical Park: official page on nps.gov
Before you go
We read every figure here on the official pages in September 2026. Fees change, so check the park's fees page before you go, and if you find something here that's out of date, tell us and we'll fix it.