Why is it considered a criminal act to park your car at a Washington State Park? (Wenatchee: vehicle registration, DMV)

[Ultrarunner]

I was caught off guard last week at a State Park as an out of State visitor.

Pulled off the road and was more than willing to pay the $10... just no one around to change my $20... the park was 100% empty... not a single car in the lot.

It there is a charge to park... it would be motorist friendly to have someone at the booth to give a receipt and/or make change.

Ended up leaving after 10 minutes... sign said no fee due for 15 minutes or less... not sure how is is enforced and didn't want to find out.

[hamellr]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I was caught off guard last week at a State Park as an out of State visitor.

Pulled off the road and was more than willing to pay the $10... just no one around to change my $20... the park was 100% empty... not a single car in the lot.

It there is a charge to park... it would be motorist friendly to have someone at the booth to give a receipt and/or make change.

Ended up leaving after 10 minutes... sign said no fee due for 15 minutes or less... not sure how is is enforced and didn't want to find out.

That is exactly my problem. When driving through Washington, stopping at parks is more of a whim instead of a destination. Until fairly recently, the closest place that sold the Discovery Pass, that was also open on weekends was way up Olympia. (They have now increased that, and I can get it at Freddies in Vancouver.)

So for me to do this right, I need to have a Discovery Pass, Northwest Forest Pass, and if I'm at St. Helens, another pass just for there. Then I start adding in the Oregon specific passes and it gets expensive pretty quickly for a bunch of passes I'm not sure I'll use every year.

But if I could drive up to the park, and buy the Discovery Pass there, I'm more likely to buy it vs. a single day pass and then look for additional opportunities to use it. But if I don't have exact change, I'm less likely to buy the pass at all.

[forester_07]

It's simple ... NATIONAL FOREST land which is governed by the U.S. Forest Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture) does NOT honor Discover Pass. Same with National Parks (NPS - U.S. Department of the Interior).

Wash. State land REQUIRED Discover Pass ... Federal land (USFS, NPS, BLM USFWS) you need a whole different pass (NW Forest Pass or America the Beautiful).

[PS90]

Originally Posted by forester_07

It's simple ... NATIONAL FOREST land which is governed by the U.S. Forest Service (U.S. Department of Agriculture) does NOT honor Discover Pass. Same with National Parks (NPS - U.S. Department of the Interior).

Wash. State land REQUIRED Discover Pass ... Federal land (USFS, NPS, BLM USFWS) you need a whole different pass (NW Forest Pass or America the Beautiful).

Ummm, your explanation wasn't very simple at all. I can't tell if you are meaning to be sarcastic or not.

On land A, you need pass X, Y, or Z; and on land B or C, you need pass T, U, or V...?

And it gets much worse considering that many of the signs aren't very clear - especially to an "out-of-stater" like the OP, who wouldn't/couldn't know what to look for in the first place.

[sean98125]

On federal land, you need a federal pass. On state land, you need a Discovery Pass.

If you are someplace with the word "National" in the name, then you are on federal land. If it says "Washington state" or "State", then you are on state land.

[st33lcas3]

Originally Posted by sean98125

On federal land, you need a federal pass. On state land, you need a Discovery Pass.

If you are someplace with the word "National" in the name, then you are on federal land. If it says "Washington state" or "State", then you are on state land.

You only need a Discovery Pass at WA State Parks and DNR land. You will need a Vehicle Access Pass for WA State land such as a WDFW Wildlife Area or Water Access Site. You get an access pass for free when you buy a hunting or fishing license.

The V.A.S. is only good at those places, but the Discovery Pass covers all state lands.


Here's a link to exemptions. You'd think out of staters would be exempt, but it doesn't list them.

[PS90]

Originally Posted by st33lcas3

You only need a Discovery Pass at WA State Parks and DNR land. You will need a Vehicle Access Pass for WA State land such as a WDFW Wildlife Area or Water Access Site. You get an access pass for free when you buy a hunting or fishing license.

The V.A.S. is only good at those places, but the Discovery Pass covers all state lands.


Here's a link to exemptions. You'd think out of staters would be exempt, but it doesn't list them.

Agreed. These little "fine print" issues are the problem. It is anything but simple. This is exactly what happened to me - I DID have a Discover Pass, but the park ranger thought (for some unknown reason) that my Discover Pass was a Vehicle Access Pass, and ticketed me for it.

After all the phone calls to clueless state "officials" and a half-day wasted in court to challenge that ticket, the judge did indeed drop it, BTW. Too bad, because I LOVE Washington's state parks, but between all these new fees, the constant decrease in state park upkeep/cleanliness, and now this ticketing "mistake" (was it really a mistake?, or an attempt to squeeze every last dime out of people?), I am completely done with any contributions to our park system.

[Inkpoe]

Originally Posted by PS90

And it gets much worse considering that many of the signs aren't very clear - especially to an "out-of-stater" like the OP, who wouldn't/couldn't know what to look for in the first place.

Well, the problem was she was talking about St Edwards Park where there are CLEAR and MULTIPLE signs that obviously either s/he must pay 10 dollars or have that pass. I mean, heck, before you can start on your walk on the trails, there's a sign reminding you to make sure you pay (or have the pass).

And how much of an "out-of-stater" is s/he if s/he's been living here in this state since January and they didn't start the pass/pay requirement around March-April with plenty of notice (at the parks, TV/Radio commercials, newspaper, et.c)?

I'm not saying I agree with the Pass/Pay system the state has set up, but oh well... I just don't go anymore.

[new_to_seattle]

Originally Posted by Inkpoe

Well, the problem was she was talking about St Edwards Park where there are CLEAR and MULTIPLE signs that obviously either s/he must pay 10 dollars or have that pass. I mean, heck, before you can start on your walk on the trails, there's a sign reminding you to make sure you pay (or have the pass).

And how much of an "out-of-stater" is s/he if s/he's been living here in this state since January and they didn't start the pass/pay requirement around March-April with plenty of notice (at the parks, TV/Radio commercials, newspaper, et.c)?

I'm not saying I agree with the Pass/Pay system the state has set up, but oh well... I just don't go anymore.

I'm an out of state visitor when I have an out of state license plate. When I have a Washington state license then i'm not a visitor. Pretty simple concept to everyone else.
I've never heard the discovery pass advertised anywhere before and I have one.

What's your point really? To belittle me more? You've already said a half a dozen times you agree with how the system is working. Move on.

[Ultrarunner]

If I read the link correctly, vehicles with disabled licensed plates are exempt... wonder if the exemption also applies to out of state disabled plates?

I do miss the simpler days...