Free Admission to State Parks: Washington

Remember back when it didn’t cost anything to visit a state park for the day? A senior Republican in the Washington Legislature says the state’s budget surplus should make it possible for park access to be free again.

Eastern Washington Sen. Mark Schoesler has drafted a bill to eliminate state park access and parking fees, effective this summer. The Senate minority leader said now is a good time to go back to free day use because the state can afford it.

“Every taxpayer from my little grandchildren to my 84-year-old father in a walker can and do use our state parks,” Schoesler said in an interview Friday. “So it gives back something to every taxpayer that they can enjoy.”

Schoesler needs support from the Democratic majority in the Washington Legislature to advance his idea. It’s uncertain if he will get it.

“That would be nice,” said House Appropriations Committee Chair Timm Ormsby, a Spokane Democrat, when asked about eliminating day-use fees. “State parks are wildly popular.”

https://www.opb.org/news/article/washington-state-park-entry-parking-fees-free-summer/