National Parks (or NP) are designated lands in the United States managed by the National Parks Service (NPS).
United States
Links to National Parks pages can be found on each State page.
Camping in National Parks is usually restricted to defined (and sometimes $$$) campgrounds. For this reason they are more common with tourists than boondockers. Some NPs have boondockable land quite near the park, so boondockers can camp for free then enter to see the park.
Passes
Various passes are available for NPs. These are especially valuable to nomads who may frequent these areas throughout the year. It may be worth skipping NPs on free admission days when they get deluged by casuals.
Interagency passes passes allow free entrance to National Parks and some other sites. Check each site for applicability. Some passes confer different benefits; see below. Some non-federal sites also honor the pass for day area fees, etc. Price mentioned below were checked on Nov 2022.
The America the Beautiful National Parks & Federal Recreational Lands Pass is the most common pass. It is annual and available to anyone who pays the $80 fee.
The Senior pass is available to persons 62 years or older. It is available in annual ($20) and lifetime ($80) versions.
The free Access Pass for disabled folk is the most generous pass: “At many sites the Access Pass provides the pass owner a discount on Expanded Amenity Fees (such as camping, swimming, boat launching, and guided tours).” and “I've gotten discounts on stuff like water fills (50%) when the Access was the only pass allowed the discount.[1]”
Veterans and "Gold Star" families can receive free lifetime passes. Disabled vets may want to consider the Access pass instead. It's also free/lifetime, but “the [veterans] pass does not cover expanded amenity fees such as camping, tours or special recreation permits; reservation fees and fees for organized groups or concession-operated facilities or activities.”
