Free Military Passes For National Parks and Museums This Summer

Just in time for the start of summer, here are two new programs that provide free military passes to attractions in the USA. 

The US Government through the National Parks Service and Bureau of Lands Management is offering free annual passes for Active Duty Military and their dependents.  The passes will allow for free entry to all National Parks and Federal recreation sites that normally charge for admission and amenity use for the entire year.  The pass will admit the pass owner plus any accompanying passengers in a private (non-commercial) vehicle.  Get all the details about the passes at the USGS.gov website

The second program is offered by Blue Star Museums, a collaboration of National Endowment of the Arts, Blue Star Families, the Department of Defense and museums across America.  Blue Star Museums offers free admission to Active Military personnel and family members to a collection of 1,500 museums across the United States.  Free admission is good from Memorial Day, May 28, 2012 through Labor Day, September 3, 2012.  The Blue Star Museums website has a complete listing of participating museums organized by state.

And as a bonus here are some additional resources for finding discounts Military travel discounts;

Vacations To Go – has an excellent list of discounts from all the major cruise lines

Delta Vacations – offers discounts from $50 to $200 on vacation packages depending on total price

Southwest Airlines – waives all bag fees, meaning there is no limit on the  size or weight of your luggage

In addition almost all major hotel brands offer military discount rates, including Choice Hotels, Hyatt, Marriott and Wyndham properties.