The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Blue Ridge Parkway are always free to enter, but fourth grade students have an opportunity to enjoy all national parks at no charge over the coming year thanks to the White House’s Every Kid in a Park Program. 

Fourth-graders can visit www.everykidinapark.gov and complete an activity to get a free one-year entry pass to more than 2,000 federal recreation areas, including national parks. The passes cover students and their families and are good from Sept. 1 through Aug. 31, 2016. 

Fourth grade educators, youth group leaders and students across the country will also participate in the program through field trips and other learning experiences. Teachers can learn about such opportunities in the Smokies at www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/education/index.htm. 

The goal of the program is to connect kids with the outdoors, inspiring them to become the next generation of environmental stewards. It’s part of the Find Your Park theme of the National Park Service’s 2016 centennial celebration. President Obama launched Every Kid in a Park with support from federal agencies.