Permits & Passes

Don’t wind up with an unpleasant surprise — make sure you have the right permit or pass when accessing public lands. Many Washington State and federally managed public lands will require that you purchase and display the correct permit or pass during your visit.

To determine which permits or passes you need, consider who operates the land you are visiting. Is the park or trail labeled as “State,” “National” or “Federal”?

Federal lands such as National Parks (such as Mt. Rainier NPS and Olympic National Forest), National Wildlife Refuges (such as Billy Frank Jr. National Wildlife Refuge), National Historic Sites, Bureau of Land Management lands, and places managed by the Bureau of Reclamation. Permit Needed: An America the Beautiful Interagency Pass gets named passholders into each of these sites. A Northwest Forest Recreation Day Pass allows trailhead parking on national forests for $5/car for one day. The pass is available at National Forest offices, visitor centers, ranger districts, via private vendors or online.

State lands such as Washington State Parks (such as Tolmie and Millersylvania State Parks), State Forest lands (such as Capitol Forest) Department of Natural Resources lands and Department of Fish and Wildlife trailheads (such as Scatter Creek Wildlife Preserve). Permit Needed: The Discover Pass gets named pass holders into each of these sites. For one-day use only, purchase your discover Pass Day Pass for $10/car. For a complete year of use, purchase the Discover Pass for $30 on the Discover Pass website.