Yearly pass to Rainier jumps $10

N.S. NOKKENTVED, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published November 26, 2001

ASHFORD -- Visitors will pay more for an annual pass to Mount Rainier National Park next year.

Starting Jan. 1, the cost of an annual pass will go up to $30 -- a $10 increase. The pass covers entrance fees to the park for a year from the month it was purchased. It doesn't include camping or climbing fees.

"I believe this is still an exceptional value," Park Superintendent Jon Jarvis said in a statement. "Anyone visiting the park only once during each of the four seasons will save money on admission."

The park's regular entry fee, which is good for seven days, is $5 for an individual or $10 for a vehicle and its occupants.

The fee is going up because a study shows that rates are lower than comparable sites outside the park, said Steve Harvey, the park's revenue and fee business manager.

Park officials compare park fees with other federal fees and the private sector, he said. Comparable fees include the Northwest Forest Pass, which is $30. Ski resorts charge $40 a day and three to six times that per year, Harvey said.

"We don't want to go overboard," he said. But the park doesn't want to compete with the private sector either.

Critics have said parks charge the fees to keep the number of visitors down. Scott Silver of the Bend, Ore.-based Wild Wilderness, a vocal critic of user fees on federal public lands, contends the fees charged at the park keep visitor numbers down and low-income families out.

But Harvey said he has heard no complaints that the fee is too high or that it's keeping people out.

The $10 increase in the annual pass is the only fee that's going up, he said.

"That's the only increase we have this year," he said.

Money from entrance fees help to maintain trails and campsites, provide interpretive signs and toilets.

Mount Rainier fees

- Annual pass: $20, which covers entrance fees to Mount Rainier National Park. Goes to $30 on Jan. 1.

- Individual: $5, which covers one person on foot, on a bus, on a motorcycle or on a bicycle for one week.

- Vehicle: $10, which covers everyone in a single, noncommercial vehicle for one week.

- Climbing cost recovery fee: $15 per person per climb.

- Climbing annual pass: $25, which covers climbing cost recovery fees for those climbing Mount Rainier for one year from the date of purchase.

- National Parks pass: $50, which covers entrance fees to all 379 sites managed by the National Park Service for one year. For another $15, it will cover entrance fees to all federal fee areas with a Golden Eagle sticker.

- Golden Access Passport: Free lifetime entrance to federal fee areas for U.S. residents with permanent disabilities.

- Golden Age Passport: $10, which covers lifetime entrance to all federal fee areas for U.S. residents 62 and older.

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Mount Rainier National Park

The Olympian Copyright 2001