America the Beautiful – The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass Program
In 2004, the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (REA) authorized the U.S. Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture and the National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) within the U.S. Department of the Interior to charge fees at Federal recreation sites that meet certain criteria and to reinvest a majority of the revenues into enhancing the site. America the Beautiful – The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass Program (Pass Program) established by REA provides a number of pass options for the public to use at Federal recreation sites where entrance or standard amenity fees are charged. The pass options are Annual, Senior, Access, and Volunteer. Note: The Volunteer Pass is issued by Federal agencies to volunteers in exchange for significant volunteer services; therefore, the pass cannot be purchased by the general public. These interagency passes replace the Golden Eagle Pass, Golden Age Pass, Golden Access Passports, and the National Parks Pass. Existing passes remain valid until expired, lost, or stolen. Passes are available at Federal recreation sites that charge a REA entrance or standard amenity fee, through government Internet sites, and through select third-party vendors.
Federal recreation sites have to meet certain criteria in order to participate in the Pass Program; therefore, not all Federal recreation sites accept or sell the passes. Before you visit any Federal recreation site or make a reservation, you should visit http://www.recreation.gov to determine if an individual recreation area sells or accepts the passes.
The general public may obtain additional information on the Pass Program and purchase the Annual, Senior, and Access Passes online from the U.S. Geologic Survey at http://store.usgs.gov/pass/ .
It should be noted that our New Melones Field Office in California is the only Reclamation office that sells or accepts the passes. You should visit the New Melones Website at http://www.usbr.gov/mp/ccao/newmelones/index.html to learn more about the recreational opportunities that are available.
Reclamation’s non-Federal partners or concessionaires are not authorized to accept or sell the passes.
Last updated: 2/5/13