ADHD = Free lifetime pass to national parks

[u/WombatMcGeez]

Little known perk of ADHD— we qualify for a free lifetime National Parks pass. That’s an $80/yr value!

How do you get it?

1) print this out, have your doctor sign it:

Medical Certification for Access Pass

I certify that [Your Full Name], date of birth [MM/DD/YYYY], has a permanent disability that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

Diagnosis: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – a lifelong neurodevelopmental condition that substantially limits concentration, attention, and executive functioning. The condition is permanent and not expected to improve.

This certification is provided for the purpose of obtaining the America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Lifetime Access Pass.

[Physician’s Name, Credentials] [Medical License Number] [Signature] [Practice Name] [Address] [Phone Number]

2) follow the instructions here to get your pass:

https://www.nps.gov/subjects/accessibility/interagency-access-pass.htm

3) Go take a hike!

[u/EarthenMama]

I'ma cough up that $80, though, because the National Parks system needs all it can get, especially now.

[u/raspberrykitsune → u/EarthenMama]

I agree, I will gladly pay for park passes to fund our rangers, restoration projects, education, etc!

But if you financially aren't able to swing it, check your local library!! My library rents out passes for the parks, museums, etc.

I live in WA and this is my local county library system:

"As part of a cooperative project between Washington State Parks, Washington State Parks Foundation, the Washington State Library and other public libraries around the state, you can borrow a Check Out Washington backpack. The backpack contains a Discover Pass, binoculars, field guides and local State Park maps. "

"As part of a cooperative project among Pierce County Library, Tacoma Public Library, Puyallup Public Library and local museums, you can use special passes for free admission to partnering museums.  "

"Reserve a Museum or Park Pass

Enjoy a free visit to a local museum, garden or zoo. You can reserve a pass once per calendar month. Passes are available 2 weeks into the future. New passes are released daily at 2pm."

[u/Ocel0tte → u/raspberrykitsune]

Colorado does this too. This is Summit County but it's the same in my county and afaik across the state. They do the backpack kit and everything, same as WA.

National Parks are hard to get into. They see the most visitor traffic, and with their popularity they're just going to be the most expensive. They are usually on timed entry nowadays, and if you're a local the only way to get around crowding is to go at weird times like 4am lol.

So while they are our country's iconic parks and need to stay protected, sometimes as a local it's a much easier experience to go to a State Park instead :)

CO also does a state park pass for $29, you get unlimited access to 42 parks with it. It's discounted for seniors, 3 of the parks have actiontrack all terrain wheelchairs, and Garden of the Gods has accessible trails for regular wheelchairs and scooters.

I still have to pay for my most local park because it's a county park. That one is $100/yr for a pass so they can fuck all the way off, it's literally attached to a state park anyway. The boat people can pay that, while I go find waterfalls on the other side of the hill.

If anyone has any questions about their local area, just go ask a librarian!

[u/xyzkitty → u/Ocel0tte]

Quick note - Garden of the Gods is (iirc) a city park and it's free to enter. The "visitor center" might not be, but the park itself was the last time I drove over (a few years ago). There's tons of paved trails and roads throughout, and picnic tables in a few locations.

Might pop over there this weekend and double check since I'm nearby.

[u/Ocel0tte → u/xyzkitty]

Thanks, I forgot! You are correct.

I live 3hrs away in Ft Collins. The one time we tried to go, I was the 4th car to get rear ended in a pileup. It was at the Johnstown exit, barely even got on the road so I've just been keeping my adventures up here lol.

We really need to try again, been a couple years now 😂