Each September, a new class of fourth graders gets the chance to lead the way outdoors. Through the National Park Service’s Every Kid Outdoors program, U.S. fourth graders, including home-school equivalents, can get a free pass that helps them bring family and friends to national parks and other public lands across the country.
The pass is valid for the entirety of the student’s fourth-grade year, from September 1 through August 31. It can cover entrance fees at more than 2,000 federal recreation sites, opening the door to everything from a nearby afternoon hike to a cross-country summer adventure.
As the Outdoors Alliance for Kids marks the start of its Every Kid Outdoors Month of Action, Sierra Club staff are sharing how children in their lives used the pass to explore new places and make lasting family memories.
Jonas Corcoran: Seventeen Parks in Three Weeks
Sarah’s son Jonas (Photo/Sarah Corcoran)
For Sarah Corcoran, Deputy Director of the Sierra Club’s Pennsylvania Chapter, her son Jonas’s fourth-grade year was an invitation to plan big. Sarah’s family lives in Pennsylvania, where state parks are free and many nearby National Park Service sites do not charge entrance fees. The Every Kid Outdoors pass gave them a reason to look farther from home.
They flew west, rented a car and spent three weeks visiting 17 national parks and other public lands. Their route stretched from Rocky Mountain National Park through the red-rock landscapes of Utah and Arizona, up through California and the Pacific Northwest, and finally to Yellowstone and Grand Teton.
Along the way, Jonas hiked among towering rock formations, stood beneath waterfalls, explored giant redwoods and watched steam rise from Yellowstone’s geothermal features. The journey introduced him to landscapes that felt completely different from the forests of Pennsylvania.
By Sarah’s estimate, paying each entrance fee separately would have cost the family nearly $600. The free pass helped them turn an ambitious map into a real family adventure, one Sarah believes her son will remember for the rest of his life.
Jett Neal III: Finding Wonder in the Desert
Jett Neal III with his Every Kid Outdoors Pass (Photo/Sherman Neal II)
When his teacher asked what he did over the summer, ten-year-old Jett Neal had a quick answer: “Went to Las Vegas.” The full story included much more. Jett traveled through the Hoover Dam area, Mojave National Preserve and Death Valley National Park with his father, Sierra Club Military Outdoors Director Sherman Neal II, his sister Skyler, and his grandmother Michelle.
In the Mojave, one of Jett’s favorite memories was camping with his family at Hole-in-the-Wall Campground and sleeping in the truck bed beneath the desert sky. At Death Valley, he received a junior ranger badge, explored Badwater Basin and hiked through Mosaic Canyon. Once the pass took his family into the park, Jett called it “the pass of my life.”
One of the trip’s most meaningful moments came while the family climbed the dunes. When Michelle felt she could not go any farther, Jett reminded her to turn around and see how far she had already come. “You didn’t think you could make it that far, but you did,” he told her. “Just have to keep going.” Skyler stayed beside her grandmother too, pointing out animals and unusual rocks along the way.
For Sherman, returning to the Mojave with his children and mother carried special meaning after spending time there earlier in his life as a Marine. One night, the family opened their sleeping bags and quietly watched the stars. The moment gave them time to slow down together and showed Jett and Skyler why protecting dark skies and public lands matters.
Milo: Glaciers, Mountains, and Bears, Oh My!
Jackie's nephew Milo exploring the park
This year, National Lands Conservation Campaign Manager Jackie Feinberg's nephew Milo was asked to pick a park to visit to celebrate his Every Kid Outdoors pass. He took three generations of his family from Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Oregon to Glacier National Park in Montana and excitedly provided his park pass at the entrance each day.
The park provided exceptional opportunities to explore, view wildlife, and, of course, learn about glaciers. On the family's very first hike, they saw a moose and her two calves across Fishercap Lake. Throughout the trip, they saw at least 6 bears (from a safe distance in the car), more moose, and on the Hidden Lake hike almost too many bighorn sheep and mountain goats to count. They took a series of two boats to get a closer view of Grinnell Glacier, and another boat in Canada's Waterton National Park that crossed the border. The two parks make up Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, a World Heritage Site representing how two countries can work together to protect a beloved natural landscape.
Milo's favorite part of the trip was drinking glacier melt water, which the park had in abundance! For Jackie and her partner Ben, they both had separately not been to the park since they were in elementary school. A lot had changed - the Hidden Lake trail at Logan Pass was much busier, and there was now a shuttle so that the family driver did not have to fret the steep drop offs of Going-to-the-Sun Road. And because of climate change, the glaciers have sadly been shrinking and even disappearing. But much remained the same because the park and its wilderness have been protected: the wildlife, the spectacular views, and the opportunities for Junior Rangers to learn and explore.
Start Your Own Every Kid Outdoors Adventure
A new Every Kid Outdoors pass year begins September 1. U.S. fourth graders, including home-school equivalents, can complete a short online activity to receive a free pass that is valid through August 31, 2027.
Visit EveryKidOutdoors.gov to get a pass and begin planning a trip. Educators can also obtain passes for their fourth-grade students.
At sites that charge by vehicle, the pass covers everyone in one noncommercial passenger vehicle. At sites that charge per person, it covers all children under 16 and up to three adults. Families should check the rules for their destination because camping, parking, and special tours may still carry separate fees.
However far the trip goes, the pass gives fourth graders a chance to explore, learn, and help lead their families into a year of outdoor adventures.