Texas Parklands Passport for Veterans

Texas Parks and Wildlife issues a set of Parklands Passports that waive the entrance fee at state parks. Four of them are military. The Veterans Texas Parklands Passport gives free entry to Texas state parks to any veteran honorably discharged from the United States Armed Forces. There is no disability rating requirement and no annual renewal. This is the one most veterans should be asking for, and it is newer than the disabled veteran version, which is why a veteran told years ago that only 60% counted may have been told correctly at the time. The Disabled Veterans Texas Parklands Passport goes further. A veteran with a 60% or higher service-connected disability, or with the loss of a lower extremity, gets free entry for the veteran and a companion. The companion privilege is the reason to hold this one rather than the general veterans passport. The Active Duty Texas Parklands Passport covers a person currently serving in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, or Space Force, including Reserve and National Guard members. It renews annually. The Gold Star Family Texas Parklands Passport gives free entry to the surviving spouse, parent, child, or sibling of a service member who died while serving. Get any of them in person at any state park entrance, with a valid military ID for active duty or a DD-214 for a veteran, plus the VA letter stating the rating for the disabled veteran version. The passport waives the entrance fee. It does not waive camping, facility, or activity fees, so a campsite still costs what it costs.