Every disabled vet should have an Interagency Access Pass (which has replaced the Golden Access Pass) because it is FREE, good for life and grants you admission to EVERY one of the 291 National Parks in the world (we have US National Parks in France, American Samoa and the Virgin Islands). It also gives you a 50% discount on camping at National Parks, National Forests, Tennessee Valley Authority, Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and federal Fish and Game campgrounds.
I worked as a Park Ranger at the Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, VA this summer and taught the staff that anyone presenting a VA ID card with "Service Connected" below the picture is a disabled vet. But you don't even need that. There is a National Park form that has a "statement of disability" on it that if you read it and sign it, they MUST issue you the FREE lifetime pass. You must, however, appear at the fee booth to get one, it can not be purchased on line or by mail or from a vendor.
The other available passes are the Interagency Senior Pass (which is the same as the Access Pass but is issued to US Citizens who are 62 or older and which costs $10 for a lifetime) and the $80 Annual Pass. The old and new passes are treated pretty much the same and you can get a replacement for the Golden passes if they are the old paper version. There is no charge for the replacement.
This is probably the best deal ever created by the federal government and everyone should take advantage of it. There was also a bill submitted to Congress this year that would have allowed anyone with a DD 214 under honorable conditions to purchase the $80 annual pass for $10. It died in committee--call or write your Senator or Congressperson and ask them about it.
See ya down the road,
Glenn
