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4th graders can get free family passes to national parks

The Associated Press
With Mount Rainier in the distance, people hike toward the Tahoma Glacier on the Wonderland Trail at Mount Rainier National Park.
With Mount Rainier in the distance, people hike toward the Tahoma Glacier on the Wonderland Trail at Mount Rainier National Park. Courtesy The News Tribune

Your fourth grader is your family’s free pass to the nation’s national parks.

Starting this month, the federal government is giving annual passes to fourth graders and their families, an effort to get kids into the national park system to experience the outdoors and learn a little history and culture. Families without a fourth grader must pay $80 for the annual pass, unless the family includes a senior citizen or member of the military.

To get your free pass, go to http://www.everykidinapark.gov and have your fourth grader answer a few questions about outdoor adventures. After that, you'll get a paper pass that you can print out and use – or trade in for a plastic annual pass that is the size of a credit card.

This story was originally published September 1, 2015 at 4:02 PM with the headline "4th graders can get free family passes to national parks."

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