OT for Natl. Park travelers

[Earstou]

I'm researching for a California trip and found out that the permanently disabled can get a Golden Access card for free entrance into the Natl park system. Here is a site with the requirements: http://www.fs.fed.us/recreation/programs/accessibility/golden_access_documents.htm
The lifetime free entrance includes family passengers in the car (spouse, children, parents, siblings).

 

[dj2]

thanks for posting! we're headed to bryce, zion and grand canyon in a few weeks, so this is timely, useful info for us!

you just show your paperwork to the first place you go, right? did it seem to you that i could just take my copy of the paperwork that we submitted to get my parking hang tag, since it has all the info they asked for (seems to meet #2)? or do you think i've got to ask the dr for another letter?

thx
dj

 

[Michigan]

I got my daughter's pass from the Grand Canyon. You tell the Park Ranger when you drive in that you need to go to the main building and get a pass. All cars must park and everyone gets on a bus to drive through the canyon. I don't know if it is the same now as it was in 1997 but they will also give you a pass for your car if you are in a wheelchair so you can drive your car through the canyon.

 

[Earstou]

I really don't know! I personally would try to get the Golden Access card somewhere closer to home.
This page - http://www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm
advises: "You can use our "Visit Your Parks" geographic search portal to locate a National Park Service site near you. We suggest that you telephone your nearest National Park Service site to inquire about pass availability and what documentation you need to provide before traveling."
Also "Both the Golden Age Passport and Golden Access Passport can only be obtained in person at a federal area (National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Corps of Engineers, Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, and Tennessee Valley Authority sites)." So there are various places you can go.
The Brown vs Board of Education Historic site opened this past year near me, so I will probably try there. It surprised me that I could possibly do it there!!

 

[Figment1964]

I got my daughter's pass from the Grand Canyon. You tell the Park Ranger when you drive in that you need to go to the main building and get a pass. All cars must park and everyone gets on a bus to drive through the canyon. I don't know if it is the same now as it was in 1997 but they will also give you a pass for your car if you are in a wheelchair so you can drive your car through the canyon.

At Grand Tetons/Yellowstone we told the person at the toll booth that we needed to get one and they had us pull off to the side. Another ranger came to the drivers window of our motorhome and asked us some questions. Then he went into another building and a few minutes later came back to us with our pass. That was all we had to do.

 

[dj2]

thanks everyone.

the nearest place is not really near, so i've been trying to find an 800 number to call and ask specific questions about the type of documentation needed. i did find a long distance number that i'll probably end up calling. hopefully all will go smoothly when we get out west. thanks for all your help.

dj

 

[welovedis]

We visited an national historic site and got ours there. No problems at all.

Also, check with your state parks department, in NYS you may be entitled to receive an Access Pass which allows free admission to NYS parks and free or reduced camping fees too!

 

[dj2]

Just got back. At the Grand Canyon, we told the person at the entrance gate that we wanted to get the Golden Access card and she had some paperwork right there for me to sign. It was quick and easy. I brought my copy of the doctor's form that I'd sent in to get my parking hang tag since it states my permanent disability w/his signature, but she didn't want to see it when i offered it. She gave us a plastic card with a swipe strip on it and we showed that when we re-entered GC and at other places on our trip.

Nice thing about GC is that there are also "windshield views" where you can pull your car right up and not have to get out if you can't (although the views were better if you did). To do this, you first needed to stop by the visitor's center and get a special pass and gate code to drive your car through a route that is prohibited to most cars during the months that they offer bus service.

dj

p.s. for anyone planning to visit GC -- we went in on our first day at about 9:20 a.m. and zipped right through to the toll booths. decided to exit to grab lunch, but that was a BIG mistake. the line of cars to get into the park at about 12:30 was over 2 miles long--all the way back up to the nearby town where our hotel was! the hotel deskclerk said that at that time of day it could take an hour or more to get into the park, so we opted to take a swim and go back in at 3:00, when she said the line would be smaller. it only took 20 minutes to get in at that time. this was spring break week, so crowds were bigger that usual, but she thought the line was big in the summer, too. if only we'd known, we'd have eaten inside the park....

 

[HopperFan]

We got ours at the castillo (fort) in St. Augustine FL. We saw the sign and when we went to buy our tickets we asked how we could get paperwork to fill out (assuming we had to apply for a future visit). She asked if we had any proof that he was disabled and I had his Medicaid card (he is 19). She said that was all he needed, we filled out a paper and she handed me his pass which we used right away. We are heading out west this summer and plan to use it again