Parks Pass
Keep Colorado Wild Pass
Colorado residents can get a $29 Keep Colorado Wild Pass when registering a car, motorcycle, recreation vehicle or light truck through the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The $29 pass is included in your registration total unless you choose to opt out.
More than just a Parks Pass
State Parks and Recreation
Your pass helps manage Colorado’s state parks, which includes keeping them clean and building new trails and facilities.
Backcountry Safety
Your pass supports the volunteer and equipment needs of search and rescue professionals across Colorado and avalanche safety programs through the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. Because of your support and the tremendous generosity of our search and rescue responders, Colorado will be a safer place to play.
Wildlife Conservation
Additional money raised not used for state parks and outdoor safety will be used to support the State Wildlife Action Plan, which helps fund wildlife and habitat conservation work for the 960 species that CPW manages.
Local Communities
Your pass supports our natural resources and helps grow outdoor accessibility and educational programs in local communities.
About the Pass
How to Purchase the Pass
Colorado residents can buy the Keep Colorado Wild Pass through the DMV when they register a motorcycle, recreational vehicle, motor vehicle or light truck. You can only buy the pass during your vehicle registration through the DMV; it cannot be purchased at CPW locations.
How to Opt Out of the Pass
You can opt out of the pass during the annual registration process with the DMV online, through a kiosk, by mail or in person with a customer service representative. Same-day reversals can be done at any DMV office.
- If in person, tell the county clerk you are declining the Keep Colorado Wild Pass.
- If online or at a kiosk, there will be a prompt during the transaction asking if you want the Keep Colorado Wild Pass. Select “No” to decline the pass.
- If mailing your vehicle registration renewal to the county, your renewal card now displays the total amounts with and without the pass. Write the check for the amount that does not include the $29 pass.
Your Registration is Your Pass!
When you buy a Keep Colorado Wild Pass, your pass is your vehicle registration card from the DMV with a Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) logo printed on your card. No additional window sticker or receipt is required or provided.
Using Your Pass for Another Vehicle
When you buy a Keep Colorado Wild Pass through the DMV, the pass is linked to the specific car, motorcycle, recreation vehicle or light truck being registered. The pass is linked to your license plate and is not transferable between vehicles. A pass should be purchased for any vehicle you want to use to enter a Colorado state park.
Senior Camping Discount
Seniors can get camping discounts with the Keep Colorado Pass. Link the Keep Colorado Wild Pass to a new or existing CPWshop.com customer account before you make your camping reservations. Follow the New CPWShop.com Customer Linking Guide or Existing CPWShop.com Customer Linking Guide or contact the CPW Call Center at 303-297-1192 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mon. to Fri.).
Residents age 64 and older get $3 per night camping discount on Primitive, Basic, Electric, and Full Hookup sites, Sunday through Thursday, excluding holidays. The discounts will not be retroactively applied to the reservation.
Requesting a Refund
If you purchased a Keep Colorado Pass and no longer want the pass, you can request a refund. Refunds are only available for 60 days from the date of registration. Read the Keep Colorado Wild Pass Refund Guide.
- Link the Keep Colorado Wild Pass to a new or existing CPWshop.com customer account. Follow the New CPWShop.com Customer Linking Guide and Existing CPWShop.com Customer Linking Guide or contact the CPW Call Center at 303-297-1192 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mon. to Fri.).
- Link the Keep Colorado Wild Pass to the customer account.
- View the “Active Products” on your account summary. You should see a line item for the Keep Colorado Wild Pass. Click the “Request Refund” button. A “Request Refund” button will not appear if you are ineligible for a refund.
Request a Refund for Your Annual State Park Pass
If you own an Annual State Parks Pass (Aspen Leaf Annual, Vehicle-Affixed Annual, Family Annual or Annual Multiple passes) when you are eligible to buy a $29 Keep Colorado Wild Pass, you can request a prorated refund on the original regularly-priced annual pass. To be eligible for the refund, you must have held the original pass for less than 9 months.
- Bulk park pass vouchers and daily passes DO NOT qualify for the annual pass refund.
- The refund is based on a flat monthly-prorated refund structure. The prorated amount is based on the price of the original pass divided by 12 months and rounded up to the nearest dollar.
- To request a refund, you must link the Keep Colorado Wild Pass to a new or existing CPWshop.com customer account. (See the New CPWShop.com Customer Linking Guide or Existing CPWShop.com Customer Linking Guide)
- Once you have linked your Keep Colorado Wild Pass to your customer account, please read the Keep Colorado Wild Pass Refund Guide to request your prorated refund. A “Request Refund” button will not appear if you are ineligible for a refund.
- Customers will be refunded to the card on file in the system used for online or phone purchases. All other pass refunds will be paid in the form of a check. Checks may take up to 90 days for customers to receive.
- Once you have linked your Keep Colorado Wild Pass to your customer account and have requested a refund on a Family Annual Parks Pass, please return the hangtag to a Colorado Parks and Wildlife office or mail it to:
Colorado Parks and Wildlife Refund Office
6060 Broadway
Denver, CO 80216
- A refund for a Family Annual will not be issued until the hangtag with the green pass is returned. The prorated refund is based on the date the pass is returned/postmarked.
How to Use the Pass at a Colorado State Park
Your registration is your pass! When visiting a state park, show your registration card to enter the park or have your pass digitally on your phone.
Simply show your vehicle registration card with the Colorado Parks and Wildlife logo to enter a park. The logo will appear on the card that does not have your address printed on it. If the park entrance is not staffed, you can enter the park but may be asked to show your pass at any time.
*You will not receive a window sticker or other receipt in the mail. Do not display your vehicle registration on your dashboard.
Have your Keep Colorado Wild Pass displayed digitally on your phone! Follow the steps below:
- Link the pass to your new or existing CPWshop.com account. (See the New CPWShop.com Customer Linking Guide or Existing CPWShop.com Customer Linking Guide)
- Download the My CPW app
- Show your pass on your phone to enter a Colorado state park.
The Keep Colorado Wild Pass gives you access to state parks and recreation areas without a vehicle and up to three additional visitors aged 16 and older. Coloradans 16 years old or younger can visit state parks for free.
Centennial Pass
Colorado Parks and Wildlife offers a $14 Centennial State Parks Pass to income-eligible residents. Residents can opt out of the Keep Colorado Wild Pass during their vehicle registration and visit a CPW state park or office to purchase a Centennial State Parks Pass instead.
Campaign Toolkit
Help us spread the word about how the Keep Colorado Wild Pass benefits Colorado! Use this online toolkit to easily download and share our Keep Colorado Wild Pass campaign materials.
Videos (10, 15, 30 seconds)
Video LibraryFlyers, Photos and Social Media
Download our social media toolkit with a wide selection of social media graphics for use across social media platforms, photographs, and flyers.
Social Media Toolkit