Lifetime passes to National Parks for seniors, disabled now available by mail

Lifetime passes to America’s national parks for senior citizens and Americans with disabilities are now available through the mail.

National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis said the Senior Pass and the Access Pass will still be available at national parks, "But the option of receiving a pass by mail may better suit some people and any change that makes it more convenient to prepare to come to the parks is a change for the better."

The Senior and Access passes provide admission to, and use of, federal recreation sites that charge entrance or standard amenity fees. Pass users also receive a 50 percent discount on some amenity fees for activities like camping and launching a boat. They are available to citizens and permanent residents of the United States age 62 or more or who have permanent disabilities regardless of age.

The "Senior" and "Access" versions of the America the Beautiful Pass – the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass – are good for a lifetime. The Access pass is free and the Senior pass is just $10. There is a $10 processing fee to receive either pass by the mail.

To get your Senior pass through the mail just submit a completed application, proof of residency and age, and $20. The fee covers the cost of the pass and a document processing fee. You can print out an application at this web site: http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html. Once the application package is received and the documentation verified, the pass will be mailed to you.

The application for the Access pass is also available at http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html. To receive the Access pass, mail the completed application along with proof of residency and documentation of permanent disability plus the $10 document processing fee. Once the application package is received and verified, the pass and the documentation of permanent disability you provided will be mailed to you.

For more information, please visit http://www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm or http://store.usgs.gov/pass/index.html.

Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area: A National Park getaway

You might expect that the world’s largest urban national park would be among the most crowded. So, you may be surprised to learn that this week’s National Park Getaway, with its endless sandy beaches and hundreds of trail miles, is not one of the top 100 most visited national parks.

That’s not to say that it isn’t loved. Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is an easy drive from the busy streets of Los Angeles, making it a popular recreation site for local outdoor enthusiasts and out of town visitors alike. Bikers, birders, campers, hikers, photographers and horseback riders make full use of this legendary region. Still, you’ll find plenty of opportunity to get away and to soak in the scenes and scents of
canyons, valleys, scrub oak and ocean.

The Santa Monica Mountains are richly diverse: culturally, geologically and biologically. Home to more than 1,000 plant species and more than 450 animal species, the recreation area also protects significant cultural and archaeological resources. Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area preserves one of Earth’s finest Mediterranean climate ecosystems.

The recreation area extends from the giant Hollywood sign in the Hollywood hills north all the way to Ventura. And though there are no RV campgrounds in the recreation area, several private and state park campgrounds are adjacent to it.

You can read more on the Santa Monica Mountains NRA at NPS Getaways.