A New Passport for Adventures Close to Home

The free National Forests and Grasslands Passport lets visitors collect digital badges and build a record of their outdoor experiences.

A day at Bass Lake or a drive into Sierra National Forest can leave you with photographs, favorite memories and ideas for your next outing. Now, there’s another way to keep track of those adventures.

The National Forests and Grasslands Passport is a free digital program that lets visitors check in, collect badges and build a personal record of the forests and grasslands they explore.

The program covers 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands, including Sierra National Forest. For mountain-area residents, that means a collection can begin close to home. Explore the passport

Launched August 27, the passport is available through the OuterSpatial app for iOS and Android. It was developed through a partnership involving OuterSpatial, the National Forest Foundation, the U.S. Forest Service and Tyler Technologies.

Each forest and grassland has its own badge, with designs inspired by its landscapes, plants and wildlife. Visitors can add photographs and comments to their check-ins, creating a digital travel journal along the way.

And there’s a welcome detail for longtime explorers: past visits count, too. Participants can add forests and grasslands from earlier trips, giving those camping vacations and memorable outings a place in their collection. Program announcement

For local families, the passport could add a little extra fun to deciding where to spend a Saturday. Children can help choose a destination and watch the collection grow, while adults have another way to revisit favorite trips.

Sierra National Forest offers plenty of starting points for that exploration. Its landscape stretches from oak-covered foothills to high mountain country, with opportunities for fishing, camping, scenic drives and walks ranging from short outings to backcountry hikes.

Bass Lake is among its familiar recreation destinations. The Sierra Vista Scenic Byway, beginning near North Fork, offers another way to discover the forest’s mountain scenery. These are places many residents already enjoy—and places newcomers can begin getting to know. About Sierra National Forest

The passport also provides a reason to look farther afield. Nearby national forests such as Stanislaus, Sequoia and Inyo are included, allowing a collection to grow with future travels.

To get started, visit the National Forest Foundation’s forest finder and select “Start Collecting,” or explore the passport program on OuterSpatial.

Before choosing an outing, check the destination’s official information for current access, closures and any fees or permit requirements.

The badge is a small souvenir. The real attraction is the day spent earning it—and, around here, that adventure can begin just a short distance from home.

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Feature Photo: Bass Lake offers a close-to-home starting point for exploring Sierra National Forest, one of the forests included in the new digital passport program.
Photo Credit: Luke Schaftary.