...the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced U.S. military veterans and Gold Star families will be granted a lifetime of free access to national parks, wildlife refuges and other federal lands managed by the Department of the Interior.
"With the utmost respect and gratitude, we are granting Veterans and Gold Star Families free access to the iconic and treasured lands they fought to protect starting this Veterans Day and every single day thereafter," said Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt.
The access passes, called America the Beautiful, currently cost $80 per year and grant entry to more than 2,000 federal recreation sites spread out across more than 400 million acres of public lands, including Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Arches, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
To get the free pass, veterans must provide some form of identification showing they were enlisted in the armed forces or the U.S.National Guard and Reserves. Gold Star families are those who have lost an enlisted family member while serving in a war, a military operation outside of the U.S. or in an international terrorist attack.
https://www.npr.org/2020/11/09/93327...national-parks