National lands will offer free entrance for holiday

THE OLYMPIAN • Published January 08, 2012 Modified January 07, 2012

0 comments

Admission to federal lands like Mount Rainier and Olympic national parks and Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge will be free Friday through Jan. 16 for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

The fee-free designation applies to entrance fees only and does not affect fees for camping, reservations, tours or use of concessions.

Other National Park Service units in Washington that are waiving their entrance fees this weekend are Fort Vancouver National Historic Site, Lewis & Clark National Historical Park and Whitman Mission National Historic Site.

In addition to the Park Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Forest Service also are honoring the free entrance weekend.

The free weekend is the first of several fee free days the National Park Service has planned throughout 2012. The other dates are April 21-29 (National Parks Week), June 9 (Get Outdoors Day), Sept. 29 (National Public Lands Day) and Nov. 10-12 (Veterans Day weekend.)

Similar stories:

State's active duty military members, dependents get a day at the park

State's active duty military members, dependents get a day at the park

On Armed Services Day, Saturday, the National Park Service will begin issuing an annual pass offering free entrance to all 397 national parks for active duty military members and their dependents.
State Parks offers free admission days

State Parks offers free admission days

The first set of four free days at Washington state parks will be March 18-19. Those dates were chosen in honor of Washington State Parks’ 99th birthday March 19.
Olympic elk status topic of upcoming program

Olympic elk status topic of upcoming program

An update on the status of the park’s elk herds will be the next installment in the Perspectives Winter Speaker Series at Olympic National Park.
Join in the celebration of national parks

Join in the celebration of national parks

Activities in and around national parks in Washington are being planned as part of the National Park Week celebration Saturday through April 29.
Military can use passes at recreational areas

Military can use passes at recreational areas

The Army Corps of Engineers now is accepting the America the Beautiful Federal Recreation Pass Program's new pass for active military members at its recreation areas.

Service men and women and their dependents who present the new military pass will have fees waived for day-use areas such as boat launches.

The pass is available in person at offices of the Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife. The pass also is good at national parks.