The Coconino National Forest and its concessionaire ExplorUS announced on Wednesday, Dec. 18, that they will be discontinuing the current $45 Grand Annual Pass that allows entry to the Call of the Canyon, West Fork, Crescent Moon Ranch and Grasshopper Point U.S. Forest Service sites within the Red Rock Ranger District in mid-January, which will be replaced with a new annual Sedona Pass.
“The Coconino National Forest and partners will discontinue the sale of the Grand Annual Pass on Dec. 31, to simplify pass requirements across the [national forest], but existing Grand Annual Passes sold through the end of 2024 will be honored at all fee sites through 2025,” the USFS press release stated.
Red Rock District Recreation Officer Phillip Walrod said that the Grand Annual Pass was originally intended to be used only at concession-run U.S. Forest Service sites and the new pass was created to rectify the problem of its local use at non-concession sites.
“I think over time, [Grand Annual Passes] have been grandfathered in to be allowed at other Forest Service sites,” Walrod said. “However, once we kind of started looking into this at the regional office, that is not an allowed use.”
The new annual pass will cost $50, an increase that ExplorUS attributed to increased operating costs. It will allow one vehicle and up to five people to access all locations covered by the Grand Annual Pass as well as the Beaver Creek day-use site and Lower Lake Mary day-use site.
ExplorUS District Manager Chris Lusby said that the pass’s name will probably be changed to reflect that it offers access to sites outside Sedona, which may at some future date include Lockett Meadow north of Flagstaff, and that the price of the pass may increase still further with that addition.“We don’t know if or when Lockett Meadow is opening,” Lusby said.
The existing ExplorUS “Big Three” $20 weekly pass that offers admission to Grasshopper Point, West Fork and Crescent Moon Ranch will not be affected by the new annual pass but “we may revisit it,” Lusby said.
“A portion of every pass that’s sold, the revenue goes directly back into the parks themselves for improvements, and that’s true for every location that ExplorUS manages for the National Forest,” Lusby said. “It’s in the neighborhood of 20%” of the revenue generated.
The funds generated will help pay for projects including the upcoming res troom renovation at Crescent Moon and Grasshopper Point, which is expected to cost around $250,000. Lusby said that the restrooms “can’t keep up with the usage.”
“[It’s] a constant challenge, and I think it’s always going to be there’s more people coming to Crescent Moon than the area was designed to handle,” Lusby said. “We keep it staffed, and try to be as efficient as possible, as far as getting people in as soon as parking spots are available, and to keep traffic from blocking up the roads into Crescent Moon. But there are limits on what we can do outside of our property, and people are always going to be parking on the roads outside of our jurisdiction and walking in.”
The new pass will be similar in size to a credit card, as opposed to the current Grand Annual Pass, which is a hangtag, “and each pass will have a unique QR code linked to the purchaser. Passes can be purchased at any of the sites where it is accepted,” the press release stated.
