Special Needs Travel Tip #1

Get a Golden Access Passport.

These are available from the National Park Service for people, including children, with permanent disabilities. It allows the passport holder, along with immediate family (parents, siblings, children) free access to any federal recreation area which charges a fee (National Parks and Forests, BLM areas, Army Corps of Engineers lands, etc.) Better yet, it provides a 50% discount on all camping and recreation (swimming, parking, boat launching, and tour) fees within the designated federal area.

To obtain a passport, bring documentation of your child's disability (I'm using their neurologist's diagnosis) and your child to any National Park or Forest Service office (located at all the sites which charge admission.)

A number of states also have disability pass programs. I'll do further research on such programs and write up what I find in a later follow-up post.