Where have you used your Federal Senior Pass--National Parks and other federal lands?

Alan said:
FYI, we have never camped or RV'ed in a National Park. Always either stayed in a cabin or lodge, or just outside the park. This is America, they don't expect folks to have to rough it to go to these places. The roads are also excellent with very good access to many places and viewpoints for those with walking difficulties.
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Right - many of the National Parks have nice lodges and the pass gets you in the gate.
 
Alan said:
FYI, we have never camped or RV'ed in a National Park. Always either stayed in a cabin or lodge, or just outside the park. This is America, they don't expect folks to have to rough it to go to these places. The roads are also excellent with very good access to many places and viewpoints for those with walking difficulties.
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Your list of parks etc. you've visited is impressive! We wouldn't be RVing or camping either so good to know there are other options. We have stayed in lodges at state parks and enjoyed them very much.
 
Bestwifeever said:
Your list of parks etc. you've visited is impressive! We wouldn't be RVing or camping either so good to know there are other options. We have stayed in lodges at state parks and enjoyed them very much.
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+1. I like the park lodges. Last year we stayed at a privately owned B&B in West Yosemite - inside the park. There was a land swap in Yosemite several decades ago that allowed private owners to own lands within the park.
 
We like the national parks. DH got his geezer pass earlier this year on a trip to Yosemite and Sequoia with his brother. Since then we've done a few trips to Cabrillo. Nice not to have to pay.

Prior to DH getting the Golden pass we've done family trips to Grand Canyon, Bryce, Arches, Canyonland, Glacier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Muir Woods, Golden Gate, Joshua Tree, Death Valley... all within the past 5 years.

Going back further - the list is a lot longer...
 
W2R said:
I don't even have $10 worth of desire to go camping or RV'ing (anywhere). I know, I know, how dare I! :LOL: But that's just me.

It does sound like a good deal for those who actually do like camping and can get a lifetime pass before the rates go up.
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When we were last in Puerto Rico, the National Park (FORT) tour was free with the pass, just an example. BTW I just got mine today.:dance:
 
spncity said:
...Note: Golden Age Passports are no longer sold. However, these passes will continue to be honored according to the provisions of the pass.

(The Golden Age Passports gave more discounts on camping at the parks, etc., yes?)
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Clarification.... Seems the Senior pass and the Golden Age Passport are now combined in the Senior pass.

At least that is what I got from a conversation with a parks employee today.

Sorry for any confusion I may have caused.
 
Bestwifeever said:
Your list of parks etc. you've visited is impressive! We wouldn't be RVing or camping either so good to know there are other options. We have stayed in lodges at state parks and enjoyed them very much.
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+1 on the State Parks.

While living in Baton Rouge we used to enjoy vacations with the young children in State Parks in Arkansas. First time we did that was at Petite Jean and the day we arrived at the lodge there were notices saying that they had roped off a parking lot on one of the mountain tops because that night the earth was passing through the tail of a comet and an impressive meteor shower was expected. We joined a bunch of folks at dusk with blankets to lie on and stuff to snack on and it was just the most amazing spectacle we could imagine.
 
spncity said:
.....From a blog:
Good news, bad news? The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill last Tuesday that could pump as much as $20 million per year into the nation’s parks. The kicker? It means increasing the cost of senior citizen lifetime park passes up from the current $10 to $80. If law, the bill would send $10 million per year to the park service directly. Up to an additional $10 million from sales of the passes would flow into the parks provided matching funds appear from private donors.
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Man, it sucks to be on the tail end of the baby boomers, just as I get close to the magic number for something, they realize it was too good a deal.

SS spousal suspend and now the Park pass..... :mad:
 
Hey, if you are born late to the game, blame your parents, not the government. :)

I still have 2 years to go to get to eligibility for a senior pass. Even if the senior pass is no longer $10, it is still a good deal as I have paid for 3 annual passes, which were not for a lifetime (they are annual, duh!).

This thread made me curious to see how many National Parks there are. Of the 59 NPs, here are the ones that I have been to.

Acadia, Maine
Bryce Canyon, Utah
Crater Lake, Oregon
Death Valley, California
Glacier, Montana
Grand Canyon, Arizona
Grand Teton, Wyoming
Haleakala, Maui
Hawaii Volcanoes, Hawaii
Joshua Tree, California
Kings Canyon, California
Mount Rainier, Washington
Olympic, Washington
Petrified Forest, Arizona
Redwood, California
Rocky Mountain, Colorado
Sequoia, California
Wind Cave, South Dakota
Yellowstone, Wyoming
Yosemite, California
Zion, Utah

I just recall Waimea Canyon in Kauai, but that was a State Park.

I visited about half of the above through the years, and about half after I retired and bought the annual passes.

Same as the senior pass, the $80 annual pass also lets one into the 2000 federal recreation sites. I did that a few times, like at the Crater of the Moon and Muir Woods, which only get assigned the status of National Monument.
 
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Ronstar said:
I like the park lodges.
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I am a big fan of the NP lodges. You do need to be aware that they are a bit pricey, and can fill up nearly a year ahead. For me, I am happy to plan ahead and pay the price in order to be closer to the points of interest in the park. My main desire in that is to save time to get to those points at good times for photography, which are often close to sunrise and sunset. Also, it is so nice to have the views right at your fingertips, like when DW and I stayed at the lodge on the rim of Crater Lake.
 
Used the Golden Age passport to see Zion, Bryce, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Saguaro in 2014. Since then multiple discounts at Forest Service campgrounds in PA.
 
There are parks that are small enough for a day trip from an adjacent town. And then, there are parks like Yellowstone that one can spend too much time driving in/out from motels outside the park.

NP lodges are difficult to get into, particularly for busy ones like Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, etc... My brother said he had to time it and get online to grab a reservation immediately after it was released. He said that they were gone in a matter of hours, if not minutes. Even slots for tent camping and RV parking must be booked in advance.

Even day trips into a popular park can be impossible with traffic jams. See photo of Yosemite below. A nice thing about being retired is that you can visit in off season.

YOSE-Traffic%20Snarl%20NPS%20350.jpg
 
Alan said:
+1 on the State Parks.

While living in Baton Rouge we used to enjoy vacations with the young children in State Parks in Arkansas. First time we did that was at Petite Jean and the day we arrived at the lodge there were notices saying that they had roped off a parking lot on one of the mountain tops because that night the earth was passing through the tail of a comet and an impressive meteor shower was expected. We joined a bunch of folks at dusk with blankets to lie on and stuff to snack on and it was just the most amazing spectacle we could imagine.
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While we have never spent the night in a Petit Jean cabin, we drive up a couple times a year for hiking/lunch. Arkansas has some wonderful state parks. We hope to visit many state parks over the next few years; there are a few in KY we especially know we want to visit.

We purchased our national park passes at Central High in Little Rock.

So far, have only used them for Yellowstone in August 2016. We hope to use them many, many more times. (We do not do the camping thing.)
 
Purchased our senior pass when I turned 60. Couldnt find it :facepalm: when we needed it again when I was 61. Easily replaced it (paid another $10 but, hey, still very much worth the total $20 investment). I feel like putting a string on it, securing one end of the string to the inside of the glove compartment, and the other end to the card.:LOL: Length of string: just long enough to reach the rear view mirror. Good thing is: well, when we find the first card, we will have one for each vehicle. :dance:
Fun fact is: you can submit a photo of
the most awesome place you have used it (most entries are of nature) and it may be used as the photo on the next years senior pass.
 
To young for the senior.
Bought a years pass at Arches NP the day before the government shut the parks down for awhile. Used it later to visit Yosemite, Zion, Bryce, and Montezuma.
 
My DH got his a few years ago at North Cascades, and I got mine at Mt St Helens. We've been to Mt Rainier, Redwood NP, 1/2 price camping at some Forest Service campgrounds in Idaho and Oregon, Yellowstone, Tetons, Rocky Mountain, Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef and Bryce. It's the best senior discount ever.
 
Sunset said:
Man, it sucks to be on the tail end of the baby boomers, just as I get close to the magic number for something, they realize it was too good a deal.

SS spousal suspend and now the Park pass..... :mad:
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+1
It sucks to even be in the middle wave of the boomers, as it appears more and more the first wave had the best "surf".
 
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