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MYNORTHWEST POLITICS

Are hiking, camping and fishing trips about to get more expensive in Washington?

Mar 5, 2025, 8:45 AM | Updated: 9:13 am

State lawmakers are considering raising cost of annual Discover Pass from $30 to $45...

State lawmakers are considering raising cost of annual Discover Pass from $30 to $45 (Courtesy Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission)

(Courtesy Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission)

It may soon become more expensive to visit Washington state parks.

would boost the cost of an annual from $30 to $45. Democratic state Sen. Derek Stanford is sponsoring the bill. He says the cost of the pass hasn’t gone up for a long time and needs to be adjusted for inflation.

The Discover Pass allows annual, unlimited access to millions of acres of .

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Discover Pass hearing

“The Discover Pass fees have not been raised to account for inflation in quite a while,” Stanford said at a “This bill will provide better funding for supporting our parks.”

Jeff Pack, with the group Washington Citizens Against Unfair Taxes, says lawmakers need to explain what people will get for their money in cases like this.

“Instead, it’s just ‘we need more money.’ Well, guess what? I need more money too,” Pack said. “I’m not an ATM where you just push a button and money comes out.”

Right now, there is no Senate floor vote scheduled for this bill, and it would also need to make it through the House.

More from MyNorthwest: Rep. Jim Walsh: ‘We’re running some pretty awful bills on the floor’

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Are hiking, camping and fishing trips about to get more expensive in Washington?