DoD & DoI finally recognize all Veterans & Gold Star Families! Since beginning of 2023 (technically since Veterans Day 2020 but this benefit was halted due to COVID) all Veterans and Gold Star Families will be granted free access to national parks and other Federal lands managed by the DoI.
Entrance fees for the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and standard amenity recreation fees for the Bureau of Land Management and the Bureau of Reclamation sites will be waived for Veterans and Gold Star Families. They will have free access to approximately 2,000 public locations spread out across more than 400 million acres of public lands.
Here’s who qualifies and what you need to bring:
“For purposes of this program, a Veteran is identified as an individual who has served in the United States Armed Forces, including the National Guard and Reserves, and is able to present one of the following forms of identification”
- Department of Defense Identification Card
- Veteran Health Identification Card (VHIC)
- Veteran ID Card
- Veterans designation on a state-issued U.S. driver’s license or identification card
Gold Star Families are next of kin of a member of the United States Armed Forces who lost his or her life in a “qualifying situation”, such as a war, an international terrorist attack, or a military operation outside of the United States while serving with the United States Armed Forces.
