America the Beautiful Pass
Is it worth it, as a British Citizen?

To summarise, non-residents without an annual pass will have to pay a $100 per person fee to enter 11 of the most visited national parks, in addition to the standard entrance fees, these 11 parks are:

1. Acadia National Park, Maine

2. Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

3. Everglades National Park, Florida

4. Glacier National Park, Montana

5. Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona

6. Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

7. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

8. Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, California

9. Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

10. Yosemite National Park, California

11. Zion National Park, Utah

It is worth highlighting that there are several fee-free days, but please note that these only apply for US citizens and permanent residents. As an international traveller, you are required to pay the standard entrance and non-resident fees regardless of the date.

It can be a difficult decision as $250 (£195) for a pass is a lot of money, but fortunately it can easily be calculated to work out if it's worth purchasing. The best thing to do is to plan ahead and calculate how much fee you would be paying, and work out if it's above $250 or not. This list of entrance fees by park is a good resource to use when calculating.

For example, on our recent Route 66 trip, we visited 7 national parks which would have cost us a total of:

• Joshua Tree National Park: $30 per vehicle

• Bryce Canyon National Park: $100 per person ($200 total)

• Zion National Park: $100 per person ($200 total)

• Grand Canyon National Park: $100 per person ($200 total)

• Petrified Forest National Park: $25 per vehicle

• Gateway Arch National Park: $0

• Indiana Dunes National Park: $25 per vehicle

Total: $680 (£530) on fees alone, and that's before I even get to the gift shop!

Fortunately, we planned ahead and discovered the "America the Beautiful Pass" early on in the trip, which cost $250, which admits the pass owner and one private vehicle (or four per person fees).

This ended up saving us a total of $430!

Validity: The pass is valid for 12 months from the month of purchase, expiring on the last day of that month (for example; we purchased it mid-May 2026, and it expires on 31st May 2027.

Identification: The passes are non-refundable and non-transferrable, and a valid ID needs to be shown with each pass.

Format Options: You can get physical passes in-person at a number of federal recreation sites, order online to receive by mail, or like us, get a digital pass from here. If you get a digital pass, I'd recommend printing it out to display in the vehicle, especially if you plan to arrive at a park before the visitor centre opens - we did this at one of our hotels on route.