Deal: Fourth-graders and their families receive free pass to national parks

Fourth-graders may now be able to call the shots on the next family vacation. They're the ones being given a free pass for an entire year to visit national parks and other federal lands that charge fees.

The deal

YELLOWSTONE, WYOMING, JULY 23, 2015: Crowds of visitors on the wooden walkways at the Midway Geyser Basin walk through the steam clouds around the colorful Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park July 23, 2015(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times ).

(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Yellowstone National Park (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Every Kid in a Park was announced by the White House and went into effect Tuesday. The idea, of course, is to get more youngsters and their families onto the millions of acres of federal parkland across the country.

Here's how it works: Children play an online interactive "game" in which they're asked to imagine what park they would visit with their pass. Upon completion, they're allowed to download and print out the pass.

When

In this Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009 file photo, throngs of hikers trek through the Virgin River along The Narrows in Zion National Park, Utah. The Park Service already has recorded 5 million more visitors from this time last year at national parks creating traffic congestion, long waits, and crowded parks. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

(Ross D. Franklin / AP)

Zion National Park (Ross D. Franklin / Associated Press)

The pass is good through Aug. 31. There are no limits on the number of times you may visit a particular park or how many parks you visit.

Details

Sequoia1. A pair of hikers trod through a blanket of fresh snow along Big Trees Trail in Sequoia National Park. Unseasonably cold weather has created a winter wonderland in the Sierra Neveda, where temperatures would normally be more spring–like at this time of year.

(Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Sequoia National Park (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)

Families really can save a bundle with the pass (provided, of course, someone in the family is in fourth grade). It means, for example, they may visit Yosemite National Park as many times as they like without paying the $30 entrance fee. Ditto for the $20 fee to enter Joshua Tree National Park

Boster, Mark -- - YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, CA., JUNE 26, 2010: (SUMMER): White, fluffy clouds are reflected in one of the many ponds in Tuolmne Meadows on a warm, buggy June evening in Yosemite National Park May 26, 2010(Mark Boster/Los Angeles Times)

(Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

Yosemite National Park (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)

There are some nice extras with this program too. For example, the National Parks Foundation, which supports the program by offering transportation grants for under-served areas, asks kids to take an online pledge to the program.

In return, they may download different park guides, including "Parks for Play: 35 National Park Adventures for Kids of All Ages."

Every Kid in a Park was rolled out to mark the beginning of the National Park Service's centennial year in 2016.

Info

DENALI NATIONAL PARK, AK - SEPTEMBER 1: A view of Denali, formerly known as Mt. McKinley, on September 1, 2015 in Denali National Park, Alaska. According to the National Park Service, the summit elevation of Denali is 20,320 feet and is the highest mountain peak in North America. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) ** OUTS - ELSENT, FPG - OUTS * NM, PH, VA if sourced by CT, LA or MoD **

(Lance King / Getty Images)

Denali National Park. (Lance King / Getty Images)

Go to Every Kid in a Park for the free pass, and the National Park Foundation for free park guides.

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