Free National Parks Annual Pass for 4th AND 5th Graders (And Their Families!)
Save on entertainment for your family!
Due to many 4th graders missing out on a free National Parks pass due to COVID, 5th graders are now eligible to get a FREE National Parks Annual Pass! If you have a 5th grader, click here and follow the directions to get a pass valid through August 31st, 2021.
Currently, the 5th grade voucher is only valid on Department of the Interior lands, which include:
- National Park Service
- Fish and Wildlife Service
- Bureau of Land Management
- Bureau of Reclamation
Learn more about frequently asked questions about the Every Kid Outdoors program here.
And if you have a 4th grader (or homeschooling equivalent), you can also score a FREE National Parks Annual Pass for the 2020-21 school year!
This pass is valid through August 31st, 2021 and grants FREE access to national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and more for your 4th grader plus all children under 16 and up to three adults! And you can use it as many times as you’d like! How awesome is that?
Here is how to snag your free pass for 4th graders:
- Head on over here and click on the ‘Get Your Pass’ button.
- Click on the ‘Get Your Pass’ button.
- Next, answer a few questions and you’ll be directed to a page to print your paper voucher.
- Keep in mind that the paper voucher can be exchanged for a more durable plastic version at certain sites.
4th grade teachers, snag this deal for your students!
Teachers and adults who lead youth-serving organizations serving 4th graders (think homeschooling co-ops, camps, church groups, etc.) can also print FREE passes for your entire class plus download fun activity guides.
We aren’t the only ones who love these free passes…
We love this program! Fourth graders are at a wonderful age to utilize the national parks and become lifelong lovers of the outdoors and the parks.
We used this pass this past summer and had SO MUCH FUN!! We only drove 15 hours to the Grand Canyon, but it took us 6 days to get there because we hit everything between us and it. It saved us so much money too. I can’t wait for my daughter to hit 4th grade in a couple of years…😃
We used this last year with our 4th grader. We went to the Badlands, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Devils Tower Monument. The national parks are not free and require entrance fees, so the pass for the 4th grader is an excellent opportunity.
THANK YOU!!! I forgot about this!!
Can we have this pass during this summer if we have a kid going to fourth grade in August?
Right after school starts again, they will offer it for incoming fourth graders.
Passes are valid September 1st- August 31st.
What do you have to do to prove your child is in 4th grade?
They don’t require any proof, OU-rxgirl. You just take the print-out to your nearest national park, and they’ll exchange it for the actual annual pass.
Can they extend this? My now 5th grader couldn’t use it as much during quarantine. :((
I doubt it, they’re pretty strict. We had a year pass this year and when we called about an extension they said they don’t do that.
That’s too bad. I had two different trips planned for this past spring break and 4th of July week that we had to cancel. We’re finally going to visit one this weekend but my son’s now a 5th grader. 🙁
Do you need to be a teacher or an official homeschooler in order to get this? My child is in 4th grade, but is doing distance learning for now. Do we need the teacher to sign up for this program in order for the 4th graders to get the passes?
Hi there, MrsA! You don’t need to be a teacher to request! Once you visit their site, click where it says “Get Your Pass” and then click the Play button under where it says “Fourth graders.” You’ll answer just a couple of quick, fun questions and then you’ll be able to print your pass – easy peasy! My kiddo is in 4th grade this year and I just printed hers this morning before sending a link to her teacher to share with the class. 🙂
With parks being in 50% use, has anybody used this pass? Most of the park requires permit beforehand to be in reduced capacity.
We used it a few weeks ago at Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and it worked perfectly!! At our first time entering the park we gave the ranger the paper that we printed from home. She exchanged it for a plastic entry card for repeat uses. FREE entrance to any national park!!! Oh, and the parks have a prepaid lane that we used with this pass. Just drive thru the lane and hold up the card and they wave you thru. It’s much, much shorter and saves you alot of time (like probably an hour of waiting to enter at Yellowstone – West Yellowstone entrance!!!) It felt like VIP treatment! Lol!
Ditto we went to Grand Tetons and Yellowstone in July and had the same experience, super simple hand over print out and receive plastic card, no teacher verification required. only issue we had was at one of the gates we were told the 4th grader needed to present the pass not the parent other than that a wonderful time was had
I live in NY and they accept this pass at state parks as well!
I live in upstate new york. They take this at state parks? How do you know which ones?
Thanks for sharing again!
Can’t wait to be able to do this! We’re planning for a great trip when my daughter can get it.
Is this not available any longer?
This is available year-round, Peghaas!
It seems to not be working anymore. I am not sure if the site is down
Hi Kelly! I did update the links in the post. It seems their site is having some trouble at the moment. If you still can’t get through, be sure to wait a bit and check back again soon!
Love this. Just used it this past weekend to get into the Cabrillo National Park in San Diego. Although we forgot the pass, they waived the entrance fee anyway which was great but there was a long line.
Does the 4th grader have to be present to use the pass? Mom and dad have a trip planned next weekend to Grand Canyon, but we are planning other family parks trips hopefully for next spring and summer. Curious if I went ahead and signed up if we could get pass and use it?
I’m pretty certain the 4th grader has to be present as well. An earlier post said that the park asked that the 4th grader present the card, not just the parent.
When my son used this pass last year, the ranger had us toll down the back windows so she could see the 4th grader and asked him a couple questions about school. Pretty sure the student has to be there. Enjoy the Grand Canyon though!!
Wow! Thanks for posting. I had a 4th grader last year and we only got to use his pass once last summer. I hadn’t known they were extending it to 5th graders this year! Guess I get to plan another camping trip:)
Yay! Glad you could get this again.
Love this! We have done this with each of our kids. They have seen tons of National Parks because of this pass.