We purchased an annual national parks pass (America the Beautiful – the National Parks and Federal Recreation Lands Pass) at our first United States national park on our 2014 Road Trip. The annual pass costs $80 and provides access to more than 2,000 recreation areas managed by five Federal agencies for a year at no additional cost.
You can read more about the pass and purchase one here. We figured it the cost would cover itself and it supports a worthwhile cause.
Here’s the summary of when we used the America the Beautiful Pass on our 2014 Road Trip. Note that not all Recreation Areas have a fee (for example, Mammoth Caves National Park doesn’t charge an entrance fee but does charge for cave tours, which the Annual National Parks Pass doesn’t cover); the list below is only those areas we visited where there was a fee and where we used our Annual National Parks Pass.
| Recreation Area | State | Fee (w/o the Annual National Parks Pass) |
| Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument | Washington | 16 |
| Ape Cave National Volcanic Monument | Washington | 5 |
| Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area | Oregon | 7 |
| Cape Perpetua Scenic Area | Oregon | 5 (this fee covered all three areas only because we visited them on the same day) |
| Heceta Head Lighthouse State Scenic Viewpoint | Oregon | |
| John Dellenbeck Dunes Trail (Oregon National Recreation Area) |
Oregon | |
| Yosemite National Park | California | 20 |
| Joshua Tree National Park | California | 15 |
| Death Valley National Park | California | 20 |
| Grand Canyon National Park | Arizona | 25 |
| Zion National Park | Utah | 25 |
| Bryce Canyon National Park | Utah | 25 |
| Arches National Park | Utah | 10 |
| Total | 173 USD | |
So, had we not purchased the Annual National Parks Pass (America the Beautiful Pass) we would have spent $173 USD on fees at Federal Recreation Areas. We saved $93 because of this $80 purchase. Score!