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Parklands Passport — Every Honorably Discharged Veteran
Free state park entry for every honorably discharged veteran — not only disabled ones — and for the surviving spouse, parent, child or sibling of a member who died in service.
Verified August 20, 2026
What this benefit is
Free state park entry for every honorably discharged veteran — not only disabled ones — and for the surviving spouse, parent, child or sibling of a member who died in service.
What it's worth: State park entrance fees waived when the passport holder is present
- The exemption covers the vehicle entrance charge when the holder is in the vehicle; camping and facility fees are separate.
Who is entitled to it
- You are an honorably discharged veteran.
- You are visiting Texas state parks.
Not sure whether that describes you?
Answer a few questions about this benefit specifically — we only ask what this one actually depends on, and we stop as soon as we know.
How to claim it
- 1Show the DD214 at any state park or apply through TPWD — the honorable discharge is the whole gate on the veteran route.
- 2Gold Star family members — surviving spouse, parent, child or sibling of a member who died in service — hold the passport in their own right.
- 3The waiver applies when YOU are present: it exempts the vehicle entrance fee with the holder in the vehicle, not the vehicle alone.
- Form
- Parklands Passport application
- File with
- Texas Parks and Wildlife, at a park or by application
- Documents you will need
- dd214
- No renewal needed
CorrectionThe existing coverage — ours included — led with the disabled-veteran passport. The statute reaches EVERY honorably discharged veteran, and separately the Gold Star family members, which is what the August 2026 audit flagged as the miss.
Sources
- authority · statuteTex. Parks & Wild. Code §13.018
- operating · published policyTexas Parks and Wildlife — Texas Parklands Passports
This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.