State and federal parks agencies will combine to offer free entry on 16 different days in 2017.
The National Park Service recently announced 10 fee-free days for 2017; its 413 parks include Fort Vancouver National Historic Site and 17 more sites in Washington.
The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission has designated 12 free days; its 124 sites include Battle Ground Lake State Park; Paradise Point State Park, west of La Center; and Beacon Rock State Park in Skamania County.
There is some duplication — days when both agencies will be waiving fees — including holidays and public recreation observances.
National parks, 10 free days
• Jan. 16: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• Feb. 20: Presidents Day
• April 15-16 and April 22-23: National Park Week weekends
• Aug. 25: National Park Service’s 101st birthday
• Sept. 30: National Public Lands Day
• Nov. 11-12: Veterans Day weekend
Visitors will still have to pay user fees on those days for things such as camping, boat launches, transportation and special tours.
The standard entrance fee at Fort Vancouver’s reconstructed fort stockade is $5 per person; children 15 years and younger are free. (There is no admission fee at Pearson Air Museum and the Visitor Center.)
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site now is on its winter schedule. The replica stockade, Pearson Air Museum and the Visitor Center are open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.
State parks, 12 days
Washington’s 12 free days in 2017 are in keeping with legislation that created the Discover Pass, a $30 annual or $10 one-day permit.
The 2017 schedule includes a new entry, an autumn fee-free day on Friday, Nov. 24 — the day after Thanksgiving.
• Jan. 1: New Year’s Day
• Jan. 15-16: Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• March 19: State Parks 104th birthday
• April 15: Spring free day
• April 22: Earth Day
• June 3: National Trails Day
• June 10: National Get Outdoors Day
• Aug. 25: National Park Service’s 101st birthday
• Sept. 30: National Public Lands Day
• Nov. 11: Veterans Day
• Nov. 24: Autumn free day
Go to http://parks.state.wa.us/158/Winter-Schedule for information on state park winter schedules.
