Vicksburg National Military Park began selling park entrance and annual passes on-site Tuesday, completing the park’s shift to a cashless fee system.

Park passes — along with America the Beautiful: National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands passes — will be available for credit card purchase at the park entrance stations and visitor center. Cash or check payments are no longer accepted.

“We are pleased to expand the suite of options available to visitors, while also working to improve the utility and integrity of the park’s fee program,” said Carrie Mardorf, acting superintendent, Vicksburg National Military Park.

For the first time in the park’s history, officials made it possible to purchase entrance passes online at www.recreation.gov and through the Recreation.gov app beginning last fall. Visitors purchasing from Recreation.gov receive a digital entrance pass they can store on a mobile device or print and present upon entry and re-entry. Passes purchased day-of with a uniformed ranger will be presented as a receipt or a card that will act as a physical pass.

Digital Annual Vicksburg Park Passes can be redeemed for a physical card at the park’s entrance stations. Park passes are not transferable. Signature holders on America the Beautiful Passes must be present within the same vehicle at the time of entrance.

The new cashless fee operation refocuses accountability, addresses safety concerns and streamlines the fee collection process for visitors and staff.  The park’s rollout complements a new standardized point of sale system implemented nationwide last summer by the National Park Service to provide advanced reporting capabilities, automated monitoring and notification, helping to track and target inconsistencies in fee collection programs more quickly than traditional systems.

Vicksburg National Military Park participates in the congressionally authorized Federal Recreation Lands Enhancement Act (FLREA). The Act allows the NPS to collect and retain revenue and requires that fee revenue be used to enhance the visitor experience. Under this program, the Military Park keeps 100 percent of all fees collected. Funds generated by the fees are used to accomplish projects the park has been unable to fund through annual Congressional allocations.

All park visitors, including walkers, cyclists and joggers are required to purchase an entrance pass upon entering Vicksburg National Military Park.