4th Graders Get FREE National Parks Passes!
Did you know that all fourth graders and their families can claim their free Every Kid Outdoors pass? This pass allows FREE entry into all federal parks, forests, and recreation areas for one full year. That’s right, a free national parks pass! It starts at the beginning of their 4th grade school year, and is good through August of the following summer. What a fabulous opportunity!
It’s not too late if your child just completed 4th grade. The free national parks pass is good through August following your school year, and you can apply online at any time to print out your voucher.
June 2021 UPDATE: 5th Graders are also eligible for a free pass this year, good through August 2021. Get your 5th grade voucher HERE.
Every Kid in a Park Pass ~ Where to Get Yours
Starting Sept. 1 of their fourth grade year, children can print out a paper voucher for free entry into all federal lands by visiting the National Park Foundation’s “Every Kid Outdoors” website at https://www.nationalparks.org/our-work/campaigns-initiatives/every-kid-outdoors.
Students and their families can also redeem their paper voucher for a plastic pass at any national parks office. We filled out the paperwork online for my 4th grade son, and printed out a voucher. The next time we went to Arches National Park in Utah, they issued him a card that is just like a national parks pass!
He is so proud when he gets his entire family in to the park for free. We plan to visit as many national parks as we can yet this year, to take full advantage of this amazing program.
The voucher and passes are valid for the entire school year, and are good through the end of August after your child completes 4th grade.
Every Kid Outdoors Pass ~ Who Can Use Them?
Teachers or adults who engage fourth-graders through a youth-serving organization can also print paper passes for each of their students! Find activities and lesson plans, at https://everykidoutdoors.gov/educators.htm.
Today, more than 80 percent of American families live in urban areas, and many lack easy access to safe outdoor spaces. At the same time, kids are spending more hours than ever in front of screens instead of outside. This is such a wonderful way to encourage these kids and their families to explore nature.
Get Kids Outdoors
The Every Kid Outdoors initiative encourages valuable opportunities to explore, learn, and play in the spectacular places that belong to us all. It also aims to inspire future generations to serve as stewards of these beautiful places!
Research shows that children ages 9-11 are at a unique developmental stage in their learning where they begin to understand how the world around them works in more concrete ways.
By targeting fourth graders, the program works to ensure every child in the U.S. has the opportunity to visit and enjoy their public lands by the time he or she is 11 years old. For more information, visit the National Parks Foundation.
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