2017 Interagency Annual Pass and Bandelier Pass. Courtesy/NPS
BANDELIER News:
About now, many people begin making plans for travels in the new year. According to Bandelier National Monument Superintendent Jason Lott, “The more than 400 areas in the National Park System are great places to go, and visits are even better if you have an annual pass to get in free at either a particular park or for areas all over the country.”
Two annual passes available at Bandelier can be purchased by anyone. The Interagency Annual Pass is $80 and provides free entrance to National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management, Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, and Bureau of Reclamation areas nationwide for a year from the month that it is purchased. The other one is the Bandelier Annual Pass, which costs $40 and provides free entry to just Bandelier for a year from the month of its purchase. This year the pass features a photo by local resident TK Thompson. Both passes can be obtained at the Bandelier Visitor Center. The Valles Caldera National Preserve also offers the interagency pass, as well as their own annual pass.
Other passes good at federal areas nationwide are also available, but require particular qualifications. Senior Passes, for US residents 62 years and older, cost just $10, and Access Passes, for persons with permanent disabilities, are free. Currently these two passes never have to be renewed. Military Passes are free to active members of the United States military; they last one year, but if the member is still on active duty when the pass expires, he or she can obtain another. Fourth Grade Passes are available free to students in fourth grade who go online to everykidinapark.gov, do an activity, and print out a voucher that can be redeemed at National Park Service Visitor Centers.
For more information on these passes, or questions about Bandelier National Monument, contact the Bandelier Visitor Center at 505.672.3861 x 517. Ongoing updates are available on the monument’s Facebook page, BandelierNPS.
