My dad is blind and mobility impaired – he uses a cane to walk and has mid-stage heart failure so walking long distances is very taxing. He totally qualifies for a handicapped parking pass as a result.
But does he need it? Well, sometimes, very occasionally, he does. But most of the time, he can still walk from that farther parking spot. He can still go with us to the zoo, walk in the park, etc., as long as he can take long breaks when he gets winded.
So by the same metric, no, of course we don’t “need” a disability pass to access a national park – I would venture to say there are very few people with a disability who simply could not go to a nat’l park if they didn’t have that free pass. (True access pressure points are things like curb cuts, elevators, or paved trails – whether you have free access or not is really not likely to be a deal breaker for anybody.)
So I see this pass as simply a very small, modest perk to make life easier for a group of people who have some additional burdens in everyday life. I think these types of accommodations actually help people with disabilities feel less restricted in everyday life. They remove one tiny obstacle or burden to going out and doing what everyone else does, because when you have a disability, one of the major burdens in our society is financial. By that metric diabetes absolutely IS a disability.
Also this idea that a pass your parents would have would somehow be of enough interest to you that it would shape how you see yourself – this I don’t get. I was never that curious about the coupons or passes my parents used to pay for things. Now, a disability label on health insurance, in schools – this to me seems more consequential, and something to think carefully about using.
But a pass to a national park seems more akin to “kids eat free” or “10% triple A discount.” I don’t think it has these grand, overarching effects on a kid’s psyche.