National Park Visitors: A New Change to the America the Beautiful Pass in 2024
There’s a change coming to America the Beautiful Pass that will limit how many people are allowed to use a single card.
Starting in 2024, the $80 America the Beautiful Pass, which allows entrance into all 63 National Parks and other federal lands and recreation sites, will move to only having one signature line per pass holder. Currently, you are allowed to have two signatures on one pass, allowing multiple family members (or friends, for that case) to use it without the other being there.
The National Park Service says this “change is necessary to address issues of consistency with other interagency passes, reduce fraudulent misuses, and allow for increased program flexibility.”
Related: Top National Parks to visit in January
The NPS says all 2023 cards that still have two signature lines will be honored until they expire. If you’re worried about the loss of this line, you can buy your pass now and it will be good until January of 2025 (or December of 2024… not exactly sure how they count it.)
Now, this really only matters for areas that have someone checking your ID vs your signature. If you have to have the pass for some wilderness hike and you put it on your dashboard, no one’s going to know who is who.
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Other things to know about the America the Beautiful Pass
- This pass is non-transferable to another person.
- Motorcycles are treated the same as passenger vehicles, so each motorcycle will be required to have a passholder and pass on board. This standardizes how motorcycles are treated for all pass types. One pass will allow in one motorcycle.
- Passes cover entrance fees or standard amenity day use fees for the pass owner and accompanying passengers in a private vehicle. For areas that charge a per-person fee, the pass admits the passholder and three adults (16 and older).
- All 2023 passes will continue to be honored until they expire.
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