river access fees? (Sacramento, Folsom: credit card, school, rooftop)

[vegas2sacramento]

Ok..new to Sacramento... Visiting river access at sunrise and also at hoffman park.. Both times i see a pay stand without anyone there. I see cars come and go and not pay. So do i have to pay? Is it free after a certain time? Both times i have visited it has been after 6pm thanks

[Think About It!]

It's a Sacramento County park and you have to pay every time you go. It's mostly an honor system that may or may not be checked by a ranger of some sort I would guess.

[cb73]

They need the money but can no longer afford to pay for the ranger to collect it.

Edit: Just occurred to me, maybe they should try for a volunteer to collect fees, at least on the weekend.

[Malloric]

The annual pass is also $50, which is a more economical way of going about it if you're a frequent visitor.

[vegas2sacramento]

The annual pass sounds like the way to go. Thanks!

[SacramentoBound]

The annual pass is particularly great if you can smash into one car with friends.

[Sactoslacker]

The annual pass is definitely the way to go but if you plan to launch a kayak or small rooftop boat, it's an additional $30 bucks.
FWIW, day fees are usually $5, add $3 for small craft and $10 if launching a boat. Some river access points will have an electronic kiosk (Howe Ave) which take cash & credit cards and other river access points have the old school put your cash in an envelope, write the date,time and lic plate and deposit into a dropbox. And if you get caught not paying, it's like a $55 ticket, so ya, the pass is the way to go.

Sac County also has No Alcohol days on the river and at access points during key holidays, it's best to check beforehand. And don't be the dumazz trying to swim across the river, people drown all the time doing this, just sayin'...

State park fees on the other hand are a little bit more, I believe it's $10 per car (Folsom & Natoma Lakes) and there is a strict No Alcohol ban (at least at the Negro Bar access).