User Fees

Many federal lands in Washington state require user fees.

In 1996, a Congressional budget rider authorized national forests to charge fees for recreation.  This mandate was interpreted differently in various regions of the agency.  In our region, the Northwest Forest Pass was created, which has been mostly supported by hikers and major hiking organizations, including WTA.  For $30/year or $5/visit, hikers could park at any national forest trailhead in Washington or Oregon.  Eighty percent of these funds went directly back to trail maintenance, and helped the Forest Service leverage the hard work of volunteer organizations.

The Forest Services’ ability to charge recreation user fees at trailheads was sharply curtailed in 2005 when the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act passed.  Now fee sites must contain the following amenities: parking, permanent toilet, permanent trash receptacle, interpretive sign, picnic tables, and security services.

Any Washington hiker knows that very few of our national forest trailheads contain more than one of the following amenities, meaning that a great many trailheads have fallen off of the system, resulting in a significant drop in much-needed revenue.

To receive updates on the user fee program and other issues that impact hikers join the Trail Action Network.