The

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

of Washington has over 140

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

s that are managed by the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission. These include 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 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 Senate, w ...

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 The fee was rescinded in early 2006, returning the state park system to its status of the only system in the West without day-use fees.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, and designated lands of the Washington Department of Natural Resources. A day use pass known as the Check Out Washington pass is also available for check out from participating

libraries A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

.https://www.discoverpass.wa.gov/148/Check-Out-Washington 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 A driver's license, driving licence, or driving permit is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, car ...

) was more successful than officials expected.

Map

Current state parks

Marine state parks

Historical and heritage site state parks

Former state parks

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 ...