Park Costs

17Jul18

Years ago I began what has turned out to be a very smart financial decision.

For the past decade, I have purchased an $80 annual pass to the National Park Service and that annual transaction has proved to be a bargain – at least for me.

Last year alone, without the pass, I would have spent almost three times that amount to visit our national parks. And on several of those trips, Carole went along as well, making it even a bigger bargain.

This year has proven to be even better. By my count it would have cost $260 just for me to gain admission to 16 different parks that charge admission. Again, Carole and even Katie and Lauren, have benefitted from my national park pass.

The amazing thing about this year is I still have another trip planned where I will again take advantage of this benefit.

Recently the cost of many national parks went up. But even if I had to pay $30 to see Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota or $20 to view the amazing scenery at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado, it’s more than worth it.

Compared to my $27 ticket to watch a Colorado Rockies baseball game recently or the ticket prices to see a movie, our national parks are great bargains.

Not everything is covered by the annual pass at the national parks. Carole and I have taken many a boat excursion recently and there is an extra charge for that.

In recent months we’ve used a boat to see Isle Royale National Park, Voyageurs National Park and Biscayne National Park. We’ve been on so many boats lately that we had to pass on another excursion in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. Not because of the cost or the itinerary – no because we’ve spent too much time on boats lately.

Sometimes the national park pass comes in handy in other locations. At the Royal Gorge in Colorado (not a national park venue), we got a $2 per ticket discount. The same was true the last time I rode up the elevator at the Arch in St. Louis.

But for every park that charges a minimal fee, there are dozens that are free to the public.

Take for instance last summer. I traveled throughout the Midwest and Southeast; making stops at nine different national park sites. All but one (Abraham Lincoln’s home in Springfield, Illinois) was free. I toured the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Andrew Johnson National Historic Site, and six others.

And it didn’t cost me a dime.

Now there’s a bargain.

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