Yellowstone Insider Your Complete Guide to America's First National Park
If you live with a fourth grader (or you are a fourth grader) you’ll be able to visit Yellowstone National Park for free this year!
Indeed, through the National Park Foundation, fourth graders and their families can apply for a free pass that gets them into any national park across the nation: Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Great Smokey Mountains, Olympic, and many many more.
The program, called Every Kid In A Park, aims to introduce families to the National Park System, whose holdings span the gamut from gems of nature to important sites in history. Coinciding with the National Park Service’s centennial, it’s also a brilliant promotional strategy.
Using the Every Kid in a Park pass, fourth graders and their family will be able to visit any national park between September and the end of next August. In essence, during the school year and summer vacation.
To receive a pass, all a fourth grader has to do is apply for the pass at the Every Kid In A Park site. All it involves is a few questions about playing outside and what you like to do for fun.
In addition, fourth grade teachers may use the site to distribute passes to their class. In addition, the Pass covers fourth graders who are home-schooled or free-choice learners.
Once a fourth grader completes the application, they can print a paper copy of the pass, which can either be kept or exchanged for a plastic pass. The Every Kid In A Park pass is essentially equivalent to the $80 Interagency Annual Pass.
Although the pass is aimed at fourth graders, it’s also meant to engage their schools and families. Parents, for instance, are encouraged to plan their trips through the Every Kid In A Park page or using the Find Your Adventure map.
There are, of course, numerous activities and attractions in Yellowstone National Park for smaller children, including the Junior Ranger and Young Scientist programs. If your fourth grader is curious about Yellowstone but isn’t sure about making a trip, they should consider checking out the WebRangers program. Finally, if you’re planning a trip with the Every Kid In A Park pass and want to stay in Yellowstone, you should look at Park hotels now, as they fill up early.
