Explore The New National Park Pass App

If you are planning to visit national parks this year, you can pay for your pass through a new app.

Visitors planning a trip to a national park in 2026 should be aware of some changes, especially regarding the "America the Beautiful" passes. The passes are now available in a digital format and feature new, modernized graphics that honor the nation's landscapes and heritage.

The official National Park Service app (NPS App), available for free on iOS and Android, is the ultimate guide to over 400 national parks. It offers interactive maps, offline tours, and real-time updates. While the app facilitates purchasing digital passes, actual pass purchases and, in some cases, digital America the Beautiful Passes are handled through Recreation.gov. 

With over 400 national park sites to discover, it can be hard to know where to start when planning a national park trip. A great first step is determining which national park pass is right for you.

Park entrance passes – also called America the Beautiful: National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Passes – cover the entrance fees at lands managed by the National Park Service (NPS) and US Fish & Wildlife Service, as well as standard amenity fees – or day use fees – at lands managed by the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and the US Army Corps of Engineers. Applications and orders for the passes are processed and distributed by the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

These interagency passes are non-refundable, non-transferable, and cannot be extended if lost or stolen. When using a pass, the passholder must show a valid photo ID. Learn more about park passes at nps.gov.

SPECIAL NOTE: Be sure to have a printout to place on your car dashboard so park rangers can see that you have paid.