On my trip to Sevierville last week, another blogger told us about the National Park Service Passport. This is similar to a national passport in that you can get cancellation stamps for visiting places – but these are just for the US National Parks. Better still is that the money spent for the National Parks Service Passport and other souvenir items they sell goes towards conserving out National Parks.
National Parks Service Passport
I love to collect souvenirs on my trips, but coffee mugs, shot glasses, t-shirts and hats are getting to be too much. They are big and are slowly taking over my house. I clean them out occasionally and either sell or donate them so I lose money. And you guys know how I feel about that. So, I have moved more to collecting souvenir pins, smashed pennies and edible items that will soon be gone.
Ok, so another reason I like collecting souvenir pins and the smashed pennies is because it’s like a treasure hunt. I mean, how many times am I going to go to Margaritaville before they finally get the pins in? Ah well, another reason to visit Margaritaville. Darn. 😛 At least Hard Rock Cafe always has them. 😀
The National Park Service Passport is the same kind of feeling. You get a cancellation stamp when you visit a park that offers it {not all parks do, so be sure to find out first – so it’s like a scavenger hunt}. You can also buy a sticker to go in your book. I have a grand total of one cancellation stamp and one sticker so I have a good long way to go.
As luck would have it, there is another place I can get a cancellation stamp near the Great Smoky Mountains and I am going to Pigeon Forge for another media trip on Thursday so, if time allows, I may try to get that one, too.
So, I have about $10 invested in the National Parks Service Passport book itself. I bought it at the National Park Service office {look for one of these or a Chamber of Commerce to get your book. I think you can also get them online and possibly also at Walmart. The passport also comes with a map of all the National Parks {worth the $10 itself} and tells a little information about each park. I think my sticker was like $2.50. You don’t have to buy that but look at that bear!!!! Awwww!!!! The cancellation stamp is free and I got to stamp it myself. The lady at the National Park Service recommends that you stamp in the corners {so you can fit 4} as there are so many parks in some of the regions that you will never get all your stamps in your book otherwise. So, that is why my stamp is sort of in the corner.
Find Out More About Our National Parks
If you are wondering what one might do at a National Park, then here are some articles provided by Sharon from Hobbies On A Budget about what she and her family did at some of her favorite National Parks as well as some helpful tips:
Gettysburg National Military Park, Packing & Parking Tips and Mammoth Cave National Park.
Also, search Great Smoky Mountains or Tennessee on this blog to get some tips about things to do in that area of Tennessee.
WHAT! I am totally getting one of these! Now I know what our spring break will be spent doing here in CO! So many national parks
I was surprised at how many there are in my part of the country that I was unaware of, too!
That is such a fun way to capture the memory of where you’ve been. I would love to visit all 58 of them!
Me too! It would take forever but I would love to be able to say that I did one day!
They had something like this in Lansing once. You spent the day going from place to place and collecting stamps. You earned a prize when you showed all of the stamps at the capitol building. It was fun. 🙂
That does sound like a lot of fun! I would definitely have wanted to do that.
So many I had no idea! We need to travel and visit the parks! Thank you for sharing it!
That’s pretty awesome! I’d love to do this with my family. What cute concept, you have a little passport along with you! Really nice!
I live in the middle of the Black Hills National Forest. I get a National Park Pass and a State Park Pass every year.
That is awesome. What is the greatest number of stamps you have ever been able to get in a year? Also, I didn’t know about the State Park Pass. Where do you get that?
This is the perfect idea for souvenirs, I will have to get this!
This is such a great idea! There are lots of National Parks in our area and we love to visit them so we should get a park passport.
ow! This is so cool. It would make such a great keepsake of places I’ve been. So super-cool. Thanks for sharing
I love this! What a great way to store memorabilia and not just add to random junk souvenirs!
This is a fantastic idea. I would love to be able to look back at all the pages.
I TOTALLY need one of these! It’s a cute idea to make it into a passport! I’m definitely getting one for this year! Thank you!
No problem! Have fun getting all your stamps!
I need to get one of these and start keeping track of where my family has been and places we still want to visit. There is so many amazing places to see in this country.
What a fun way to track your progress in visiting national parks! I want my kids to see as many of them as possible!
I love the idea of looking back at captured memories.
Awesome way to track everything that you have done and the adventures you have been on.
This year is a big anniversary for the National Parks. What a great idea to commemorate it by giving these passports to kids to encourage a lifetime of exploring the park system across our great nation.
I agree. It’s easy to rack up on silly souvenirs that will be donated or sold later. To me, this is a souvenir you would keep a lifetime.