Discovery Pass is required for all Washington State Parks

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Kaila
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Discovery Pass is required for all Washington State Parks

Post by Kaila » September 9th, 2011, 9:34 am

I went up to Hamilton Mountain yesterday and found that as of July 1st, 2011, Washington now requires a discovery pass at all state parks. The hike description still lists "$5 Washington State parking no longer needed" under Fees, Regulations, etc.

This affects (at the least) all the hikes listed in Beacon Rock State Park: Beacon Rock Hike, Little Beacon Rock Loop Hike, Hamilton Mountain Loop Hike, Pool of the Winds Hike, and Hardy Ridge Loop Hike.

A day pass is $10 and a year pass is $30 (and is only good for one license plate number). They can be purchased at the ranger station or online, or a day pass can be purchased at the trailhead (for Hamilton Mountain).

More information is here: http://discoverpass.wa.gov/

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retired jerry
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Re: Discovery Pass is required for all Washington State Park

Post by retired jerry » September 9th, 2011, 10:28 am

Thanks for pointing that out, we should fix field guide

You know, it's almost impossible to keep up with every change in fees. Particular trailheads can require a NW Forest Pass one year, but not the next, for example

Maybe we should put something for every trailhead to that effect - beware that fee could have changed since this info was posted

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Martell
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Re: Discovery Pass is required for all Washington State Park

Post by Martell » September 9th, 2011, 10:42 am

I think we need like some templates for the permit info too, so we can quickly mass update all the pages requiring a specific type of pass. And yeah a general disclaimer would be good too.

With private concessionaires charging additional fees at trailheads, I'm wondering if there is some sort of strongly worded statement we could add to make clear a majority of the hiking communities' opinion on such fees.
-Dan
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retired jerry
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Re: Discovery Pass is required for all Washington State Park

Post by retired jerry » September 9th, 2011, 10:49 am

"strongly worded statement"

Yeah!!!

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mpettengill
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Re: Discovery Pass is required for all Washington State Park

Post by mpettengill » May 6th, 2012, 7:52 am

I came here to say that the Hamilton Mtn. Loop article still incorrectly states no fee is required for access.

http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org ... _Loop_Hike

The fee is correctly noted on the trailhead page, but the fee should still be removed or corrected on the Mtn Loop article.

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retired jerry
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Re: Discovery Pass is required for all Washington State Park

Post by retired jerry » May 6th, 2012, 8:09 am

Thanks

I fixed it

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Grannyhiker
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Re: Discovery Pass is required for all Washington State Park

Post by Grannyhiker » May 6th, 2012, 12:19 pm

Note that the annual Discover Pass can now be used for two vehicles (the license number of each needs to be written on the pass before use). This is a much better deal for 2-vehicle families who don't know which vehicle they'll be using for hiking.

While I don't need one for most of what I do, I may end up buying one anyway for taking my grandkids (who live near Seattle) on outings.

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kepPNW
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Re: Discovery Pass is required for all Washington State Park

Post by kepPNW » July 6th, 2012, 6:08 pm

The two-vehicle limit isn't such a great deal for folks with more than two cars, though. When going hiking, I'll probably want one of our 4x4s, but a picnic or stretch break at a SP would more likely be in the higher MPG car. They really oughta do it like the NWFP, and let you just put it in any of your vehicles.
Karl
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