Passport to Your National Parks
Passport to Your National Parks is a program through which ink stamps can be acquired at no cost at park visitor centers and ranger stations at nearly all of the 433 units of the United States National Park System and most of the National Park Service's affiliated areas. The program is run by Eastern National, a non-profit organization that operates bookstores in many park locations.
The ink stamps applied with a rubber stamp are similar in nature to passport stamps stamped in a traveler's national passport and serve as a record of each park visit. Eastern National has described the stamps as cancellations, but this is incorrect as a cancellation is a mark that cancels the validity of a postage stamp, while these mark a record of visitation like a passport stamp and denote a place and date like a postmark and do not cancel anything. Collectors of the stamps have formed a non-profit social club, the National Park Travelers Club, a group which holds annual conventions.
Passport Books
Passport books are official guidebooks published as part of the Passport to Your National Parks program[1] and provide designated spaces for visitors to collect ink cancellation stamps from units of the National Park Service. They are sold at park bookstores and online.
Classic Edition
The Classic Edition is the original passport book format.[2] It is a compact (4"x6"), spiral-bound booklet containing 112 pages organized by regional sections with space to collect ink cancellation stamps and park details. It has been the core edition of the passport series since its introduction in 1986.
Collector’s Edition
The Collector’s Edition is a larger version of the passport book (7.5"x10") designed to accommodate stamp cancellations for over 400 National Park Service sites.[3] It is 192 pages and spiral bound, featuring color-coded regional pages, additional space for official park cancellations, and regional maps.
Explorer Edition
First released in 2006 for the program’s twentieth anniversary, the Explorer Edition uses a 8"x11" 7-ring binder format with larger, rearrangeable pages, allowing visitors to add pages and organize stamp entries flexibly.[4] This edition is suited for travelers planning extensive park visits or who desire space for memorabilia and additional content.
Junior Ranger Edition
The Junior Ranger Edition, developed in collaboration with the National Park Service, is aimed at younger visitors and combines traditional passport stamping with educational content and activities.[5] This passport book is a 9"x7" soft cover, spiral bound booklet. It includes space for both standard park cancellation stamps and specially designed Junior Ranger cancellations, encouraging participation in Junior Ranger programs.[6] The National Park Service and Eastern National announced this edition in 2018.[7]
Passport to the American Revolution (America250)
In 2025, a special edition titled Passport to the American Revolution was released to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary. This passport book is a 4.5"x6.5" spiral bound book.[8] This edition highlights national park sites associated with the American Revolution and includes designated areas for America250™ cancellation stamps alongside traditional passport stamps, as well as historical timelines and interpretive content. The book also contains a foreword from Ken Burns.
National Park Passport Regions
The National Park Service is administratively divided into regions. Each region provides oversight and guidance to the park units within its geographic area. While the NPS currently divides the various parks, monuments, and other units among seven regions, the passport booklet organizes parks into the nine regions in effect when the program was established.
Annual Stamp Series
In addition to the stamps, each year the Passport to Your National Parks program releases a set of ten full-color collector sticker stamps featuring a photo and description of one park per region. Passport holders can affix these adhesive stamps to their Passport book in a designated space below which they can stamp the corresponding ink stamp. The Park units featured on the stamp sets change each year.
The stamp sets, dating back to their inception in 1986, are still readily available at most park gift shops for under $10, or on the internet through Eastern National.
Originally, the featured stamps were only available in the region they represented, save for Colonial National Historical Park, where Eastern National was headquartered. In 1986 the stamps were printed on thin cardboard, which distorted the passbook due to the combined thickness of the cardboard. Each stamp would be mounted onto its respective page with a lightweight, black, adhesive-backed plastic sleeve. Since 1987, the annual stamp series have been printed on a single sheet of adhesive-backed glossy paper, of a quality similar to that of conventional postage stamps.
Featured stamps
References
- ^ "Passport Books". America's National Parks. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ "Passport To Your National Parks® Classic Edition". America's National Parks. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ "Passport To Your National Parks® Collector's Edition". America's National Parks. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ "Passport To Your National Parks® Explorer Edition". America's National Parks. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ "Passport To Your National Parks® Junior Ranger Edition". America's National Parks. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ "Become A Junior Ranger". National Park Service. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ "National Park Service Partners with Eastern National to Create Passport to Your National Parks® Junior Ranger Edition". National Park Service. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
- ^ "Passport To The American Revolution". America's National Parks. Retrieved 28 December 2025.