Passes & Permits

Passes & Permits

Recreation

America the Beautiful Pass    

Cradle of Forestry Seasonal Day Use Permit

George Washington & Jefferson National Forests Seasonal Day Use Permit

Special Recreation Permits for Designated OHV and ATV Trails

Non-Recreation

Fuel Wood Permit  

America the Beautiful Passes

Interagency Annual Pass $80.00

The new Interagency Annual Pass replaces the Golden Eagle Passport.  This pass covers certain standard amenity fee sites.  On the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, the Interagency Annual Pass covers standard amenity fees at Cascades and Crabtree Falls. 

Additional places the Interagency Annual Pass may be utilized are at certain entrance fees to National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges, and day-use fees charged at other National Forests and Bureau of Land Management sites and areas.

The Annual Pass may be purchased at Forest Offices.  The pass is good for one year from the month of purchase.

A special hangtag used for displaying your Annual Passport is available at no cost.
 

Lifetime Access Pass Free

The new Interagency Access Pass replaces the Golden Access Passport. It covers Standard Amenity Fees.The new Access Pass is a lifetime pass available free-of-charge to persons who are permanently disabled. This pass must be applied for in-person at any Forest Service office.

A special hangtag used for displaying your Access Passport is available at no cost.

(1) Cardholder (only) receives 50% off fees for these "expanded amenity" sites/services:

• basic camping fee (not hookups)
• developed boat ramps & swimming areas
• specialized interpretive services
• Forest-wide Annual Pass (not site specific passes)

(2) No fee for "standard amenity" sites - Cascades and Crabtree Falls

• At sites that charge per vehicle, admits the pass holder & all passengers in the car
• At sites that charge per person, admits the pass holder plus 3 people 16 years & older

Interagency Senior Pass $10.00

The new Interagency Senior Pass replaces the Golden Age Passport. It covers Standard Amenity Fees. The new Senior Pass is a lifetime pass available to citizens and permanent residents who are 62 years of age and older. Proof of Age is required. This pass must be applied for in-person at any Forest Service office.

A special hangtag used for displaying your Senior Passport is available at no cost.

(1) Cardholder (only) receives 50% off fees for these "expanded amenity" sites/services:

• basic camping fee (not hookups)
• developed boat ramps & swimming areas
• specialized interpretive services
• Forest-wide Annual Pass (not site specific passes)

(2) No fee for "standard amenity" sites - Cascades and Crabtree Falls

• At sites that charge per vehicle, admits the pass holder & all passengers in the car
• At sites that charge per person, admits the pass holder plus 3 people 16 years & older

Interagency Decal

Holders of America the Beautiful Annual Passes may obtain the new decal for free through this web site with the purchase of an Annual Pass.

New Interagency Passport hang tags

The hang tags for America the Beautiful Interagency Passes are now available from Forest Service Offices.

HOW DO I GET ONE?

Purchase an American the Beautiful pass at most Forest Service offices or online at the U.S. Geological Survey website.

Cradle of Forestry Seasonal Day Use Pass

WHAT IS THIS? 

The Cradle of Forestry in America Interpretive Association manages two recreation complexes as a concessionaire.  They offer a Seasonal Day Use Pass for Beartree and Grindstone on the Mount Rogers National Recreation Area.  Beartree has a lake with sand swimming beach, fishing, hiking and mountain biking trails, picnic tables, and a bathhouse with warm water showers.  Grindstone offers a rock wading pool, playground, volleyball court, picnic tables, and hiking on a short interpretive trail or a day hike to the highest peak in Virginia on the Mount Rogers National Recreation Trail.

HOW DO I GET ONE?

The Cradle of Forestry’s Seasonal Day Use Pass costs $20.  It is in the form of a hangtag for the rear-view mirror, and permits up to 4 people in that vehicle to use the day use areas.  These permits can only be purchased at the entrance stations to Beartree and Grindstone.  The Cradle accepts cash and checks.

George Washington & Jefferson National Forests Seasonal Day Use Pass

WHAT IS THIS?

For frequent visitors to day use recreation areas, this pass allows for unlimited visits to the sites listed below. The pass is in the form of hang-tag for your vehicle rear-view mirror, to be displayed while visiting the area.

• Bark Camp
• Phillips Creek
• Crabtree Falls
• Sherando Lake
• Brandywine
• Todd Lake
• Cascades
• High Knob
• Cave Mountain
• Cave Springs
• North Fork of the Pound

HOW DO I GET ONE?

The Seasonal Day Use Passes are available for $30 at all George Washington & Jefferson National Forests offices as well as the Sherando Lake, Cave Mountain Lake and Bolar Mountain entrance stations. The passes can also be purchased by mail from any of the George Washington & Jefferson National Forests offices. Please contact a Forest Service office to arrange purchase by mail.

Permit Information

Fuel Wood Permits

You are allow to gather down and dead wood on the national forest after you obtain a Fuel Wood Permit from a District Office. Wood gathered under this permit is for personal use only and cannot be resold.

Permits cost $20.00 and are good for one year from date of issue. The permit allows you to gather 6 cords of wood from national forest land.

To purchase a permit, you will need to know the year, make, model, color, license plate number, state of issue, and size of truck bed of the vehicle that you will be using to gather fuel wood.

You can obtain a permit at the nearest district office, Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. The Forest Service accepts cash, credit cards, money orders, and personal or cashier's checks.

You may also obtain a purchase a permit via mail. Print and mail the attached form to your nearest Ranger District office. Wood Permit Form

Frequently Asked Questions and Directions for Gathering Wood (Adobe .pdf file)

Directions for Gathering Wood on the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests
Please sign and return one copy of the permit to the ranger district office that issued it.

Where can I gather wood on the forest?
Wood can be gathered anywhere on the George Washington & Jefferson National Forests EXCEPT:

• Recreation Areas
• Wilderness Areas
• Marked Timber Sale Areas

Where can I drive my vehicle to get the wood?
Vehicles can only be operated on open roads. Cross country driving is prohibited.

How much wood can be gathered?
You are permitted to gather SIX cords of wood

How much is six cords?

• 12 loads in a truck with an 8-foot long bed.
• 18 loads in a truck with a 6-foot long bed.
• 24 loads in a mini-pickup truck.

Other things to keep in mind

• Display your permit on your dashboard while gathering wood.
• Make sure you are not on private land. Private land holdings are common within national forest
  areas. The boundary between private and public land is normally a three-foot corridor with marked trees on each side. Private land is behind ONE red blaze. National forest land is behind TWO red blazes.
• Check page 2 of the permit for other restrictions specific to the ranger district you are cutting on.

Special Recreation Permits for Designated OHV and ATV Trails

Off-highway vehicles (OHVs), all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), utility vehicles (UTVs) and unlicensed motorbikes are restricted to use on designated trails only. Every operator of an ATV, UTV, 4-wheel drive vehicle, motorcycle or motorbike on trails and roads designated within the Peters Mill Run/Taskers Gap OHV complex in Shenandoah County and all operators of ATVs, motorbikes and mountain bikes on the South Pedlar ATV Trail in Amherst County must possess and display a permit. Permits cost $5 for a daily permit, $12 for a 3-day permit (must be used on a visit of 3 consecutive days) or $30 for an annual permit. Permits are available from authorized vendors and from the Lee Ranger District Office and the Glenwood-Pedlar Office. For a list of locations where you can purchase special recreation permits for these two trail systems, go to:

Permit vendors for Peters Mill Run/Taskers Gap Trail System

Permit vendors for South Pedlar ATV Trail System

Two designated ATV trails are free.  These are Rocky Run Trail in Rockingham County west of Harrisonburg and Patterson Mountain ATV Trail System in Botetourt County north of Roanoke.  For more information about all of these motorized trails, visit our designated motorized trails page.