The Washington State Park System is a set of
state parks
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...
owned by the state government of
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
,
USA. They are managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. There are over 140 parks throughout the state, including 19
marine parks and 11 Historical Parks.
The park system was established in 1913 by the creation of the Washington State Board of Park Commissioners. The first two parks were formed from donated land in 1915, and by 1929 the state had seven parks. In 1947 the State Parks Committee was renamed to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and given authority to oversee the state park system. By 1960 the number of state parks had increased to 130.
In 2003, the
Washington State Legislature
The Washington State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Washington. It is a bicameral body, composed of the lower Washington House of Representatives, composed of 98 Representatives, and the upper Washington State S ...
introduced a $5-a-day parking fee, meant to fund park-related construction projects; more than a quarter of the fees collected went into the fee-collection system itself. Park use decreased more than 15% under the fees. The fee was rescinded in early 2006, returning the state park system to its status of the only system in the West without
day-use fees. In 2011 the legislature enacted a $10 day-use permit and a $30 annual pass, called the Discover Pass, for vehicles to enter state parks, lands owned or managed by the
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is a department of the government of the state of Washington, United States of America. The WDFW manages over a million acres of land, the bulk of which is generally open to the public, and m ...
, and designated lands of the
Washington Department of Natural Resources
The Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages over of forest, range, agricultural, and commercial lands in the U.S. state of Washington. The DNR also manages of aquatic areas which include shorelines, tidelands, lands u ...
.
Funds generated from the sale of the Discover Pass are deposited into the Recreation Access Pass Account. The new fees did not raise as much money as was hoped, though another effort to encourage donation when renewing certain state licenses (including
driver's licenses) was more successful than officials expected.
Map
Current state parks
Former state parks
See also
*
List of national parks of the United States
References
External links
Washington State Parks and Recreation CommissionWashington State Parks Foundation
{{Lists of state parks by U.S. state
Washington state parks
State parks
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural ...