Fourth Grade Scouts Can Visit Parks for Free!

For more than a century the BSA has used the great outdoors as a classroom to teach character development, citizenship training, and personal fitness.  And now families with Scouts in the fourth grade have a great opportunity to explore federally managed lands and waters for free.

Yes, you read that right. On September 1, the White House launched the “Every Kid in a Park” program to encourage fourth graders to explore public lands and inspire the next generation to be active in the outdoors, spend time with friends and family, and learn in outdoor classrooms across the nation.

“Every Kid in a Park is a chance for fourth graders from every background to be outside and get to know the lands and waters that belong to them, whether it’s a national forest, a wildlife refuge, a marine sanctuary or a historic site in the center of a city,” said Christy Goldfuss, Managing Director at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. “By expanding their horizons and learning all the ways the outdoors can enrich their lives, this innovative program hopes to create greater awareness of the many benefits of our nation’s public lands and waters.”

Fourth grade Scouts can head to the Every Kid in a Park website to snag a pass which grants them free access to all federally managed lands and waters, including national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and marine sanctuaries. What’s more, the pass provides free access for three accompanying adults (or an entire car for drive-in parks). The pass is good for the 2015-2016 school year, too, so Scouts and their families have plenty of time to take advantage of this sweet deal!