Is It Possible to obtain a COE 62+ yr old Card In The Mail?
I just turned 62 this year, and want to get the -50% discount card from all COEs. Thanks for any definitive assistance on how to receive and order the card!
Forum Discussion
As previously said, it is not a COE pass, it is a Federal Recreation Pass (issued jointly by NPS, BLM, USFWS, and USFS) mostly agencies in Department of the Interior. It replaces a senior pass once issued by the National Park Service. Any facility within these agencies that collects an entrance fee should be able to issue the pass, but non-fee sites might not.
DoD was kept out of the Federal Recreation program, the Army is not authorized to sell the new pass, though the NPS let them sell the old one.
but most COE-run access facilities honor the current senior pass with a discount on camping fees, may ormay not accept it in lieu of other fees (e.g. day use, ramp fees, dump fees, etc). Concession operations on COE facilites may not accept the pass, nor necessarily other operators like states, cities, counties, and tribes, all of which operate facilities on COE projects in our area. But they might have a discount program for seniors, and might accept the senior pass as proof of that status if you have no other proof of age. But maybe not, since our state and the Osage nation say "over 65" not "over 62." And it might not be half-price, as I go to one park where seniors get $8 off on a fee that can be $12 to $24, so it might be more or less than half.
Similarly, concessionaires on Forest Service and National Park Service properties may not offer discounts to pass holders, nor accept the pass in lieu of a particular fee. One NPS site I visited, pass meant nothing because there was no admission charge, and ther was no pass-based discount on the guided tour, which was the only way to visit the site (LBJ Ranch). More recently at WTC Memorial, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, the Senior Pass discounted or waived no fees. although these are all NPS. So don't get your expectations so high that you get indignant about the pass not being honored.
DoD was kept out of the Federal Recreation program, the Army is not authorized to sell the new pass, though the NPS let them sell the old one.
but most COE-run access facilities honor the current senior pass with a discount on camping fees, may ormay not accept it in lieu of other fees (e.g. day use, ramp fees, dump fees, etc). Concession operations on COE facilites may not accept the pass, nor necessarily other operators like states, cities, counties, and tribes, all of which operate facilities on COE projects in our area. But they might have a discount program for seniors, and might accept the senior pass as proof of that status if you have no other proof of age. But maybe not, since our state and the Osage nation say "over 65" not "over 62." And it might not be half-price, as I go to one park where seniors get $8 off on a fee that can be $12 to $24, so it might be more or less than half.
Similarly, concessionaires on Forest Service and National Park Service properties may not offer discounts to pass holders, nor accept the pass in lieu of a particular fee. One NPS site I visited, pass meant nothing because there was no admission charge, and ther was no pass-based discount on the guided tour, which was the only way to visit the site (LBJ Ranch). More recently at WTC Memorial, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, the Senior Pass discounted or waived no fees. although these are all NPS. So don't get your expectations so high that you get indignant about the pass not being honored.
