Sad state of national parks and forests - II
I've less than 2 years ago reported here the sad state of our national parks and national forests after family camping in Yosemite, Redwood, Raiinier, Lassen Volcanic, Lake Tahoe... which I posit with...
Forum Discussion
valhalla360 wrote:
Honestly, $80 for an annual pass (far less for old folks) is really too cheap for what you get. Bump that up a bit and mandate the dollars go right back into the parks and I bet you see a lot of improvements.
The annual pass and the "old folks" pass are not the same.
The standard annual pass does not include discounts for camping fees, etc. All you get is the free entrance. Unless you can/will visit national parks multiple times in a year, it is not cost effective to spend the $80. A 7-day entrance fee for Death Valley is $30. Unless you are staying longer than 14 days, or visiting another national park during the calendar year, it isn't cost effective to buy the annual pass.
In comparison: a standard site at Furnace Creek is $22 per night. With the senior pass, it's $11. For 14 nights, that's a savings of $154 in camping fees as well as the $60 in entrance fees. Making it extremely worth the one-time price of the pass.
