This might just change the way you travel.
America’s national parks are the country’s majestic crown jewels and include some of the most gorgeous landscapes in the world.
From glaciers and geysers to dunes, deserts, and stunning mountains, the parks showcase the natural beauty of the U.S. with the power to inspire us all. They’re also extremely popular travel destinations: the National Park Service reports a whopping 323 million people visited in 2025.
Vacations built around national parks provide a choose-your-own-adventure experience, allowing children of all ages to explore, learn, and have fun in some truly spectacular settings. And thanks to a little-known federal program, the nation’s fourth-grade students and their families can enter them for free. Every Kid Outdoors is easy to access and is the perfect travel hack.
“It’s such an amazing program, and one of the best-kept secrets for family travel in America,” said Maddi Bourgerie, outdoor enthusiast and travel expert with RVshare, an online recreational vehicle rental marketplace. “When it comes to thinking about how you want to spend time with your kids, introducing them to the idea of being outside has great benefits. Your entire vacation could really be built around it.”
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Established back in 2015, Every Kid Outdoors is an interagency collaboration between the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Forest Service. The program provides no-fee entry to national parks, wildlife refuges, marine sanctuaries, and forests.
“Connecting young people and families with national parks helps build lifelong relationships with nature, history, and public lands,” a spokesperson from the National Park Service told Fodor’s via an emailed statement. “These experiences support physical activity, curiosity, critical thinking, family connection, and stewardship while helping students see national parks as places that belong to them.”
The NPS says it selected the fourth-grade age range for the program because children ages 9–11 are beginning to understand the world around them in more concrete ways and are better able to connect with nature, history, and the environment.
Stephanie Tevebaugh agrees with that assessment. The mother of two lives near Salem, Oregon, and homeschools both her sons.
“I’d heard of the program from homeschool groups on Instagram, and I knew it was something I wanted to try,” said Tevebaugh.
As soon as her older child started fourth grade, he signed up for the Every Kid Outdoors pass. The family’s first foray into America’s national parks became an epic adventure. They visited the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest National Park, and Yosemite National Park, skipping all admission fees. Tevebaugh prepared lesson plans about the history, nature, and biodiversity of the areas they were headed to beforehand, injecting academic rigor into the experience. Her boys were sworn in as Junior Rangers, enjoying extra free activities at each park. It all added up to a journey that reshaped how they vacation.
Since that first road trip, Tevebaugh’s family has visited more than two dozen national parks–large and small–opting to purchase passes when her older son’s year-long Every Kid Outdoors voucher expired. When her younger son enters the fourth grade this fall, he will immediately apply for the program.
“Using the pass just got the ball rolling,” explained Tevebaugh. “I didn’t have national parks on my radar, because we did not go when I was a kid. Just being in Yosemite, it gave me the bug. I remember coming around the corner in the valley and seeing El Capitan for the first time, and I literally teared up. It was just amazing, and I was like, ‘I want to see more of this,’ and then it just happened. All these different places we’ve been to and seen now, honestly, it’s priceless to me.”
Richard Louv wrote his book, Last Child in the Woods, 20 years ago, and in it introduced the concept of nature deficit disorder. The acclaimed author and co-founder of the Children & Nature Network sounded the alarm on increased screen and indoor time among America’s young people, while exploring the many physical and mental health benefits of getting outside, including reduced anxiety, boosted resiliency, and increased creativity.
“This nature connection in childhood, and in fact, for adults, is not a nice-to-have,” stressed Louv. “It’s a have to have.”
After his book was released, Louv says pediatricians began to write literal prescriptions for nature for children in their care. School systems across the country incorporated outdoor time into lesson plans, and nature-based preschools boomed. Indeed, the Every Kid Outdoors program itself sprang from the growing movement, and Louv says it remains a terrific way to incorporate the great outdoors into family vacations.
“This issue of noticing nature is essential,” Louv stressed. “In order to protect something, you have to love it. In order to love it, you have to notice it, and you have to come to know it. The only way to do that is to be aware of it.”
According to the NPS, more than 275,000 kids engaged with Every Kid Outdoors during the 2023-2024 school year. Interested in taking part? The process is a snap. Simply grab your laptop and a favorite fourth grader, then hop onto the Every Kid Outdoors website. Your young person will first take part in a short educational activity, and then download a printable voucher to present for free entry. That’s it; nothing else is required.
About 100 national parks charge entry fees—typically up to $20 per person or $35 per vehicle–so you can easily save a couple of hundred dollars on a summer road trip, especially if you hit multiple major parks like Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Grand Canyon in a single sweep.
There’s a bit of fine print: the pass grants free entry for fourth graders, all children under 16, and up to three accompanying adults (or an entire car for drive-in parks). Expanded amenity fees, such as camping or boat rides, aren’t covered. It’s valid for multiple uses between September 1 and August 31, so even if you’ve got a current 4th grader closing in on the end of the school year, it’s not too late for your family to reap the benefits of the Every Kid Outdoors pass before the end of the summer.
As for Bourgerie? She already sees the advantages nature brings to her toddler: calming her nervous system, relaxing her, and expanding her curiosity. As soon as her daughter enters fourth grade, she’ll sign up for her own Every Kid Outdoors pass.
“I don’t think people realize how accessible they truly are, and that there are so many benefits for children and families at these national parks,” she said.