I have a fourth grader this year, and high on my “back to school” to-do list is signing up for her free Every Kid Outdoors national park pass!

Every year, all fourth graders around the US get free access to visit all national parks, lands, and waters… including 63 big national parks, all 431 national park units (including monuments and historic sites), forest service land, and more!

Keep reading for all the info on:

how the fourth grade national park pass works
how to sign up for the Every Kid Outdoors national park pass
alternatives for free or discounted national park admission if you don’t have a 4th grader
my personal suggestions where to visit in California (and beyond!) with the free national park pass
other passes that offer free access for California 4th graders

How does the Every Kid Outdoors pass work?

The free national park pass program (called “Every Kid Outdoors”) is for all fourth graders in the US: public school, private school, homeschool all qualify! (If you homeschool or unschool without grade level, they say to do it the year your child is turning 10 year old).

You’ll sign up on the Every Kid Outdoors web site (see below for details) and print out the pass. Then when you visit the national park/forest/etc, you hand it to the ranger or display on your dashboard, and you get free admission for everyone in the vehicle, as long as the 4th grader is with you. Or, if it’s a per-person fee, it includes all children under 16 + up to 3 adults.

You can visit as many locations as you want and use it as many times as you want during the one-year program, which runs every year from September 1 through August 31.

The pass does not provide admission for special tours, campsites, or anything else unusual — just the basic admission/parking fee.

Where can we go with the free Fourth Grade National Park Pass?

The Every Kid Outdoors web site says it’s “all national parks, lands, and waters” — but what does this really mean?

Free admission to the 63 “big” National Parks like Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, etc.
Free admission to the other national park units (there are 431 in all!) like Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego or Fort McHenry in Maryland.
Free admission and parking at national forests (like Angeles National Forest in LA, or Cleveland National Forest in San Diego).

Because the 63 big National Parks usually charge the highest admission (it can be $30+ per vehicle!), those are the big highlight for many families because it can quite a bit of money saved.

Unfortunately, I can’t find a list of every location covered nationwide (please let me know if you can!), but see below for info on the places in and around California where you can use your pass.

How Do I Sign Up for the Every Kid Outdoors pass?

You must sign up online before you head out on your trip… It’s simple and quick, as long as you have a printer!

You can sign up anytime between September 1 and August 31, just make sure you do it before you go.

Visit the Every Kid Outdoors web site and click on “Get Your Pass” and then “Fourth Graders — Play.”

Make sure you’re on a device that can print, because it does not give you a PDF to download or anything, nor does it send to your email. (No printer? Try your local public library).

It takes about 30 seconds to sign up - there are a few questions for the child to answer, just for fun, about where they want to visit. Then you just follow the prompts and soon you’ll have the pass, ready to print.

The only personal info that needs to be submitted is attesting that the child is in 4th grade (or homeschool equivalent) and your Zip Code. They do not collect a birthdate, home address, name of school, email address, or any other personal information.

You have to sign up online + print the pass before you show up the National Park (or other location) entrance.

Important: You must have a physical paper or plastic pass — they will not accept digital passes or screenshots on your phone. So plan ahead and sign up before you leave home so you can print.

Some locations will exchange your paper pass for a plastic one (the size of a credit card) — you can find a list of those sites here.

You can keep using your paper or plastic pass all year long… no need to keep signing up online.

The good news is that if you lose your pass before your next trip, you can always sign up online again and print a new pass, as long as it’s not August 31 yet.

When can I sign up for the 4th Grade National Park Pass?

The program runs every year from September 1 - August 31 and is for children who are in 4th grade during that year, regardless of your first day of school date or when you sign up.

The sooner you sign up and start traveling, the more use you’ll get it out of it. For example:

If you sign up on September 1, you get to use the pass for the entire year, and it expires on August 31 the following year.
If you sign up on March 28, it still expires on August 31, so it’s only useful for about half a year.

If you have a child younger than 4th grade, mark your calendar for September 1 in the year they’ll start 4th grade!

What’s the value of the Every Kid Outdoors pass?

Financially, the value is about $80. Any person can purchase an America the Beautiful annual pass which operates very similarly to the 4th Grade pass - it costs $80 a year and is valid at all the same locations. (The difference is the regular America the Beautiful pass lasts for one year from date of purchase, no matter when you purchase it.)

To me, there is also a priceless benefit to the Every Kid Outdoors pass since it’s time-sensitive — only works for the year your child is in 4th grade! — so having the Every Kid Outdoors pass can serve as a motivation to get outside and visit those national parks in this specific year… moving a National Park or National Monument trip from the “someday” list to the “let’s go this year” list.

Also, I love how this helps the 4th grader feel special and helpful! Usually as parents, we’re the ones paying for tickets, planning activities, and doing the driving… it’s more difficult for children to contribute as much toward their family travels and adventures!

If you enter a national park at a ranger station, the ranger will often ask to see the 4th grader and make them feel important about being the pass holder. When my older daughter was in 4th grade, she felt so special knowing that she was the one providing admission for our whole family to the national parks!

My current 4th grader is campaigning to get to choose the first national park we visit this year, since it’s “her” pass. I’d be on board, except that she wants to choose Gates of the Arctic, which is in Alaska and is one of the most remote national parks, only accessible by plane or backpacking, lol. We’re not exactly going to take a fall weekend trip to Alaska! (Incidentally, that particular national park actually has no fees, so the pass isn’t even worthwhile there!)

But, if your 4th grader has less ambitious plans than mine, it could be fun to give them a role in helping plan your national parks adventures this year.

What if I don’t have a fourth grader?

If you don’t have a fourth grader but still want to save money visiting national parks, here are your options:

If you’ll be visiting multiple national parks, your best bet is likely to buy the America the Beautiful pass for $80/year. (This pass lasts one year from date of purchase, so if you buy it in March, it will last through the following February…. It doesn’t expire in August like the 4th grade pass).

Of course, you’ll want to do the math first - if you’re just visiting one or two national parks over the next year, it is likely cheaper to just pay admission to that one site. (It varies by location, but individual national parks are usually around $30 per vehicle and valid for a week. Sometimes parks will do an annual pass to that park only for around $50). Also, double check that the park you’re visiting charges admission - some, like Redwood National Park, don’t.

There are a few other ways to get discounted or free America the Beautiful passes:

If you regularly travel with anyone older than 62 (like a grandparent), they can purchase an annual pass for $20, or a lifetime pass for $80, and it will work for your whole vehicle.
US citizens and permanent residents with permanent disability receive a free lifetime pass.
Military families can receive a free annual or lifetime pass, depending on your status.

You can find all the details on National Park Passes here.

Where in California Can I Use the Fourth Grade Every Kid Outdoors Pass?

California has nine big national parks (the most in the country!) Here are the California National Parks where you can use your 4th grade pass:

There are two other National Parks in California but they don’t have an entrance fee, so your 4th grade pass wouldn’t really be worthwhile here. Of course, it’s fun to visit anyway, but wouldn’t maximize your pass:

California also has some other national park units that are smaller or less developed, like monuments and historical sites. Here are the ones that charge admission that you might want to visit while you have your 4th grade pass:

Many other monuments and smaller park units in California, like Fort Point (Golden Gate Bridge) in San Francisco, don’t charge admission, so while you certainly can visit them, you don’t need to prioritize them during the year you have the free Fourth Grade pass.

Alcatraz Island requires ferry tickets even if you have a pass.

Of course, there are many other locations outside California, too! Here’s a list of all 431 national park sites around the US (not all of these charge admission though).

Bonus Tip: Using the 4th Grade National Parks Pass as an Adventure Pass

The fourth grade Every Kid Outdoors pass is not just for national parks… it’s valid at national forests too!

Some Southern California National Forest sites require a National Forest Adventure Pass — essentially, a parking permit. It works out to around $5 a visit (per car) to park in certain hiking areas - we’ve encountered this when hiking Millard Falls in the Pasadena area, or Thurman Flats in the San Bernardino Mountains. It’s not expensive, but can be a bit of pain, since you often have to buy these passes off site, like at a local convenience store. (You can also plan ahead and buy online from REI).

A little-known benefit of the 4th grade pass is that it also functions as an “adventure pass” in forests in California. Just display your 4th grade pass on the dashboard and you don’t have to pay that $5 adventure pass fee!

My Personal Suggestions for using the Every Kid Outdoor Pass in Southern California and Beyond:

Personally, we plan to maximize our pass this year with a few day trips, a quick weekend trip or two, and perhaps one or two weeklong vacations. Here are my suggestions:

Day Trips or One-Night Trips:

I’d definitely plan to visit these two national park sites, which are both easy to reach for most of us in Southern California:

visit Joshua Tree National Park sometime this winter or spring. It’s the most accessible national park for many of us in Southern California, it’s kid-friendly, and easy to do in a day. If you live within an hour or two of Palm Springs, it’s doable as a day trip, or you can spend the night and enjoy the stars!
visit Cabrillo National Monument in San Diego. Again, this is accessible for most of us in Southern California. I don’t think visiting Cabrillo National Monument will take a full day (maybe a few hours), but there are plenty of other things to enjoy in San Diego! Bonus points if you go on a day with low tide, as there are great tide pools.
(for the record, Channel Islands National Park is another good day trip or overnight, but they don’t charge a fee so not super helpful for the fourth grade pass in particular).

Long Weekend Trips:

If you have 2 or 3 nights, you could do a long weekend to any of these spots from Southern California (each bullet point would be a separate weekend trip) -

Zion National Park (maybe add on Bryce Canyon or Grand Canyon)
Yosemite National Park
Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Park
Death Valley National Park (in cooler temperatures only)
Pinnacles National Park (especially nice combined with a visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium or Gilroy Gardens amusement park, or other nearby fun, as being at Pinnacles may not occupy your whole weekend).

Week-long Vacations:

If you’re planning a lengthier vacation, of course, you can head anywhere! You could spend a longer time at any of the trips above, or here are a few more ideas:

Road trip to Northern California’s national parks. You could visit Lassen Volcanic, Yosemite, Pinnacles… maybe add on Redwood or Crater Lake too. Some of these are pretty hard to get to on a long weekend, because there’s a lot of drive time in Northern California. You could drive from home, or consider a short flight to Oakland/San Francisco/San Jose to shorten the drive. Note: Redwood doesn’t charge admission, so the fourth grade pass isn’t really necessary here, but if you’re headed on a road trip up north, definitely make a visit!)
Visit some or all of Utah’s “Mighty Five” National Parks (Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, Arches, Capitol Reef) on a road trip (or take a quick flight to Vegas or Salt Lake City). I’d consider early fall or late spring for the best weather (gets pretty hot in the summer!) You could possibly tack on Mesa Verde (Colorado).
Go to Rocky Mountain National Park There are often direct flights from Southern California airports to Denver, where you could rent a car and drive 2ish hours to Rocky Mountain National Park. We’ve been here twice with kids and really loved it; beware of lots of crowds on the Estes Park side in the summer. It’s quite possible to enjoy a solid week in and around RMNP - plenty to do!
Go to Olympic National Park - Southern California to Seattle could be another direct flight, with a bonus that there are no time zones to cross! It’s a little harder to get to Olympic National Park, but this was probably my favorite NP I’ve visited with my kids. You can take a ferry from Seattle and then hike and explore away at Olympic! (We visited in August and the weather was perfect).
Of course, there are plenty of other great National Parks too… Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, Glacier, Acadia National Park, the Alaska National Parks, and more!

My Favorite National Park Resources:

Finally, I couldn’t leave out a few of our favorite national park resources… these are the tips I give to friends when they’re headed to national parks:

Don’t miss the junior ranger program! Each park provides an activity book for children to complete and then they receive a badge to keep (they’re almost all free). It’s a great souvenir, and a fun way to keep kids engaged. My children have vests to store their badges… some of them really like wearing in the park on hikes because other visitors and rangers will often comment on their badges!
Consider buying a national park passport book - we’ve been through several different types and the ones from Andersen Design Company are definitely my favorite. First off, they’re beautiful, and contain a “10 things to do in this park” list and pictures of a common animal in that park, which my kids like to look through for fun (or thrust upon visitors to our home to look at, lol). (We also have the official NP passport book but it’s quite boring in comparison). Second, there are stickers in the back of the book for each park so when you inevitably forget to bring in your book to get it stamped at the ranger station, you can still mark it as visited when you get home!
Guide Along Audio Guides - I never spend money on apps… except on the Guide Along guides. We’ve been thrilled with each one we’ve ever purchased - they’re around $15 and make the trip so much fun. They give GPS activated narration, even if you don’t have phone service, so it will say, “on your right, you’ll see…” and you can really look out and see it!
National Parks of the USA is my favorite national park book for kids. We also got the sticker book, which we rarely use, but I laminated the fold-up map that came inside the sticker book, and it hangs in our kitchen at kids’ eye level above our trash cans and they look at it every time they throw something away!

Don’t miss the California State Park Pass for Fourth Graders, too!

A separate registration is required here, but 4th graders also get free access to some California State Parks, like Silver Strand State Beach in San Diego, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Chino Hills State Park, San Buenaventura State Beach in Ventura, or Morro Bay State Park on the Central Coast.

Unfortunately, it’s not all of the state parks offer free access, and there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to which ones are free, but you can view the list here to find locations near you.

If you want to visit a State Park not on that list, consider checking out a California Library State Park pass from your local library instead.

All About the Free Fourth Grade National Parks Pass (in California and Beyond!)