The price of a WA State Parks Discover Pass may be going up

If you live in Washington state and have a family, chances are you will have spent time at a Washington State Park. These days a Washington State Park visit runs 10 bucks, but the Washington State Parks Department has what they call a Discover pass, and in the past, it was $30.00, so if you went to a State Park more than three times a year, you were saving money. 

Washington state is looking at a huge deficit over the next two years, so it looks like the price of a Discover pass may be going up. 

According to Gazette-Tribune.com,
‘SB 5390, proposed by Sen. Derek Stanford, R-Bothell, increases the cost of a Discover Pass from $30 to $45 and the day pass fee from $10 to $15. As an avid user of state parks, Rep. Beth Doglio, D-Olympia, the primary sponsor of the House version of the bill, said this increase was long overdue.’ 

Even at $45.00 for a Discover Pass, that is still a deal for an entire year of access to Washington State parks. I was talking to my buddy John Connor just a few minutes ago who is an avid user of Washington State Parks, and he said that he only took the family to state parks three times last year, but that still penciled out to a breakeven point. He was saying this year he hopes to Visit Washington state parks more often. 

Keep in mind, if you live in Wenatchee Squilchuck State Park qualifies. How about Daroga State Park. When I was a kid, my parents used to take us to Fort Casey Historical State Park. (This was a long time ago.) 

According to Washington State Parks, there are 144 state parks in Washington.  

In Eastern Washington there's the Ginko Petrified Forest State Park near Vantage, the Golden Dale Observatory State Park Heritage Site, Lake Chelan State Park, the Peshaston Pinnacles State Park, and Steamboat Rock State Park near Electric City just to name a few. Like I said 144 state parks. 

I've got a project for you. How long do you think it would take for you to visit every one of those 144 Washington state parks? 

If you get the Discover pass, think of the money you'll save.
Bill proposes higher fees for Discover Pass in Washington | Okanogan Valley Gazette-Tribune
Find Parks | Washington State Parks