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State Park Admission Free at 70% — or on Unemployability or VA Pension

A disabled veteran rated 70% or more service-connected — or individually unemployable, or receiving VA pension — and any former POW gets state park vehicle admission free, certified once through the county veterans service officer.

Verified August 27, 2026

What this benefit is

A disabled veteran rated 70% or more service-connected — or individually unemployable, or receiving VA pension — and any former POW gets state park vehicle admission free, certified once through the county veterans service officer.

What it's worth: A free Park Admission & Trail Pass Card — vehicle admission and the state trail pass, for two years or life

  • The benefit is issued as a Park Admission & Trail Pass Card rather than as a fee waiver at the gate.
  • The card INCLUDES the state trail pass. Buying a trail pass separately is money wasted.
  • The card is valid for two years or for life, depending on the issue — so it is not an annual errand.
  • Certification runs once through the county veterans service officer.

Who is entitled to it

  • Your service-connected rating is 70% or higher.
  • The VA rates you individually unemployable.
  • You are a resident of this state.

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

  1. 1Have the county veterans service officer certify the qualifying status — 70%+ service-connected rating, individual unemployability, or receipt of VA pension — on the department's certification form.
  2. 2Former POWs qualify on that status itself.
  3. 3Present the certification for the admission waiver when entering the parks.
Form
Certification through the county veterans service officer (Form 2500-123)
File with
Your county veterans service officer, then the Department of Natural Resources
Documents you will need
va benefit summary letter
No renewal
Once granted it does not need renewing.
CorrectionThe pension route surprises people: a veteran receiving VA pension — a NON-service-connected, income-tested benefit — qualifies for the admission waiver without any disability rating at all. Summaries that reduce this waiver to "70% disabled veterans" miss both that route and unemployability.

Sources

Why only one source type: The department's own pages state the waiver, its three eligibility routes and the county-officer certification; the legislature's statute server refuses connections.

This finder provides an informational match, not a government eligibility determination. The responsible agency decides your application.