Free Natioan Park enterence

I believe it's just for Veterans' Day, Nov 11th ... it's not new. I will check with my VA group and find out if it's permanent. Will check back in a day or so.

"Starting next month, veterans and Gold Star families will be able to visit national parks and other public lands for free, under a new initiative from the Department of the Interior announced on Wednesday."

Fees at national parks waived for veterans, Gold Star families starting next month

Dutch_12078 wrote:
"Starting next month, veterans and Gold Star families will be able to visit national parks and other public lands for free, under a new initiative from the Department of the Interior announced on Wednesday."

Fees at national parks waived for veterans, Gold Star families starting next month

I wonder if that includes canoe/kayak/boat launching fees like they have in the Everglades National Park ?

Guy

Here's the offical news release.

https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/trump-administration-grants-gold-star-families-and-military-veterans-free-entrance

Sounds good. I wonder how the "next of kin" will be enforced to prevent abuse.

Great news! I’m glad we are being recognized for our service.

Wonderful news. I believe it is wrong to 'lease out' the management of our national parks. I can understand leasing out vendor contracts for food and other services but not park operations. Veterans earned this perk through their service. Thanks to all who served.

Do not go there.

The Moderators will delete the TRUTH.

Thank you to all who served.

I agree with Entrance Fees, all other you should pay for.

Many veterans will not have any of the four acceptable ID's including myself. A state park in MO did something just like this and I said what about me? That park did write back and say a DD214 would also suffice.

If you don’t already have a Department of Defense Identification Card, or a Veteran Health Identification Card, you can apply for a Veteran ID card on the va.gov website. You’ll need to upload images of documents like drivers license, DD214, passport, etc depending on what form of ID verification you choose. The ID card just identifies you as a veteran, it doesn’t signify you are eligible for any VA benefits.

Also, all 50 states and Puerto Rico offer a Veteran designation (an identifying mark) printed on state-issued driver’s licenses or IDs. The type of Veteran designation may vary from state to state. If you have a Veteran’s designation, you may be able to get discounts offered to Veterans at many stores, businesses, and restaurants.

Do you ever wonder how many of us veterans there are in the US? As of 2018 there were about 18 million, or about 7% of the US population.

What about active and reserve military? Care to take a guess how many? Our Active and Ready Reserve forces, about 2.5 million, is about 0.0075%…less than one percent of the US population.

:):)