etrippe1 Posted September 14, 2015 Report Share Posted September 14, 2015 Just ordered mine and not having had one before, what's the best way to use this? In find camping spots? And in finding parks that honor it for entrance fees and camping? And any thing else???? Also, we will be in SE MI till Nov and then not required to be in SW FL till Dec 1. Thinking of checking out some cg's with my new pass. Any suggestions between MI and FL? (and not necessarily a straight route there) thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dzwiss Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 Try Sleeping Bear Dunes to try it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nana25k Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 Your Senior Access Pass will do the following 1 grant your vehicle and passengers admittance to all National Parks, historic site etc that charge a fee. This also include National Wildlife Refuges that have a fee and National Forests that have an entrance or parking fee 2 it will give you free and reduced fees at National facility's that have a fee based program. 2 that come to mind ate the Casa Grande NHM in Arizona or the Land between the Lakes in Kentucky 3 Army Corp of Engineer Parks reduced fee camping. Note that some have turned the management over to a state or county entity and so the reduced fee may not apply. 2 that come to mind are on the east side of the Dallas Fort Worth area. 4 camping at National Parks. Note that if the campground is run by a concessioner it may not accept your pass for a reduced fee such as Teton or Yellowstone The web site for all National Park Campgrounds and ACOE will tell you if your pass is honored Always ask because some state parks might give you a senior discount If there are 2 of you then I suggest you both have one. At Land Between the Lakes only Ron was given the discount on entrance tickets because I didn't have mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
etrippe1 Posted September 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 Try Sleeping Bear Dunes to try it out. thanks dzwiss, been there and I want to get a bit south before stopping, it's Nov after all. How's Oregon? and the wife, kids and g-kids. Miss you guys here at the park Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFDR3116 Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 Most forest service campground also honor them with discounted camping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theeyres Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 Most forest service campground also honor them with discounted camping. Unfortunately many NFS campgrounds are now run by private companies and don't honor the pass. You just have to ask to find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronbo Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 I have the pass and think it is unfair that they don't have to honor it. It is all aboutrofit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dutch_12078 Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 We use our Senior Passes several times a year for low cost camp sites. Our most recent use was at the COE Tompkins Recreation Area near Tioga, PA, but we probably wont use it again until we get to the NPS Midway Campground on Florida's Tamiami Trail in January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LindaH Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 If there are 2 of you then I suggest you both have one. Agreed. At Great Basin National Park, the Senior Pass (and the Access Pass) is good for half price on the cave tours...but only for the card holder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2gypsies Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 We've gotten 1/2 off on concessioner-run forest service campgrounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFDR3116 Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 The concessionaire run forest campground that we worked at honored the passes. However the reservation site does not list it, and, I don't think they have a spot to list the discount for you. Many will have a spot on the envelope provided for drive up campers and honor the rate. There are some who do not however, and I had forgotten about that. We never make reservations, so use our pass frequently when we fill out the envelope for our site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trostberg Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 You do get half off campgrounds in Yellowstone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobsallyh Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 We very rarely make reservations but last year we did for Swan Lake, MT. Forest Service C/G. There is a place on Reserve America to add your "Old Farts" pass and get your discount or we would have never reserved. If it is a concession aired C/G and they honor the pass, it usually takes 1/2 off the camping but you pay full fare for electric like at Bakers Hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nana25k Posted September 15, 2015 Report Share Posted September 15, 2015 So the best advice is to check and ask for yourself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathi D Posted September 30, 2015 Report Share Posted September 30, 2015 We are full-time and we have saved hundreds of $ with our pass. I have only had one incidence where it was Half price for the cardholder but with all we have saved I can afford the $2.50 it cost me. I just saved $45 at Hot Springs National Park campground and are going to Dallas area where it will be $8/night with the pass for 10 days. Add up the savings and well worth it. We don't plan our trip around the card but consider it a bonus when we can use it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbaraok Posted October 1, 2015 Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 You might want to check again - the Ft. Worth COE entered into a private/public partnership a couple of years ago and while you still got ½ off on fees, the fees were doubled what they were before. Not sure what it is now, because I know they had some problems with the steep fee increase which resulted in people not using the COE parks. Also, check to make sure that the water levels have dropped and you can get in. Several of the campgrounds had problems because of the high water/flooding over the spring/summer. Barb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtmtnhiker Posted October 1, 2015 Report Share Posted October 1, 2015 Just got mine this year. Got into Acadia National Park for free. I also use mine almost every week during the summer where I get into all the National Forest fee sites (not campgrounds) at no charge. It's a great thing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamarynn1 Posted October 4, 2015 Report Share Posted October 4, 2015 We ask everywhere if it is accepted for a discount or free admission. We've been surprised at the places that said "sure!". What can I say....we're cheap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat & Pete Posted October 5, 2015 Report Share Posted October 5, 2015 We ask everywhere if it is accepted for a discount or free admission. We've been surprised at the places that said "sure!". What can I say....we're cheap. Don't be so hard on yourself ... You're just being frugal . We do the same . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobsallyh Posted October 5, 2015 Report Share Posted October 5, 2015 jawa2010, we do the same thing. One such place was Shoshone Falls on the Snake River at Twin Falls, ID. It seems it can work both ways at the pay kiosk. We are usually in there a few times each year as we always "have to check the falls out". If it is a young person working the kiosk, sometimes you have to bring it up to them and they immediately acknowledge the pass. If it is an old fart working the booth, usually he beats you to asking. If ever in the area, go visit, as it is a city run park and very nice. Just don't take an RV down there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solo18 Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 There are several Corps of Engineering (COE) campgrounds in Georgia that accept the pass. My favorite is Old Federal on Lake Lanier in northeastern Georgia. Every site has a nice view of the lake, and all sites have paved pads with water and electric. Your best bet is to go onto www.recreation.gov and do a search by state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barbaraok Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 We love Lake Lanier too. Only problem is the gate closing time - makes it hard to visit people and get back in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nana25k Posted December 10, 2015 Report Share Posted December 10, 2015 X2 on what Barb said about Lake Lanier. We've encountered a couple like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamarynn1 Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 BobSallyH - Funny, what a coincidence.....It was at Shoshone Falls that we were first asked if we had a national park senior pass. I didn't know before that that places would honor it. After that, we always asked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dewilso Posted December 11, 2015 Report Share Posted December 11, 2015 As a suggestion....all parties should have their own individual pass. If you use it for tours only the holder gets half price. Also, if for some reason you end up with the card holder out of the picture..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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