On December 1, if you snowshoe or Nordic ski at any non-motorized Snow-Park in Washington, you will need a permit. Season-long Sno-Park permits go on sale in November (available online or in local outfitter stores).

Washington’s Sno-Park permit fees increased this year: One-Day Sno-Park Permit costs $25; Seasonal Permit is $50; and the Special-Groomed Trail Permit has risen to $70. The groomed trail permit is an add-on to the season-long permit (also referred to as a grooming sticker) and is required at Mount Spokane’s Selkirk Lodge Nordic ski area parking lot, among other areas. 

The Sno-Park fee helps cover the cost of snow removal in parking lots accessed by winter recreational users.

Idaho Park N’ Ski Permits

Idaho operates a Park N’ Ski permit system for its 17 plowed winter parking lots for cross-country skiers and snowshoers, with fees going into effect on November 15. The permits are $7.50 for a three-day pass or $25 for the annual pass. Idaho has a reciprocity agreement with Oregon’s Sno-Park system too.   

New Trailhead & Trail at Antoine Peak

Spokane County’s newest conservation area trailhead and trail addition, Trentwood Trailhead to Etter Ranch (the soon-to-be southernmost access point to the Antoine Peak trail system), is now open.

You can also access the new Etter Ranch trail from one of the existing Antoine Peak Conservation Area trailheads. The new trail connects to the southeast side of the Emerald Necklace Trail. 

Waikiki Springs Trail Improvements

The Inland Northwest Land Conservancy has been making recreational trail improvements to its Waikiki Springs property, located in northwest Spokane County, both to improve the on-trail experience and also to reduce environmental and wildlife impacts.

The first new loop trail is now ready for hikers to enjoy just across the bridge over the Little Spokane River. Follow the newly installed trail signage. 

Check Out Snowshoes from the Library

Want to try snowshoeing before purchasing equipment? The Spokane Public Library keeps a selection of various snowshoe sizes in their “Library of Things,” available for check-out with your library card. (Editor’s Note: Some other public libraries, including at community colleges, also offer a Library of Things collection for check-out.)

Fee-free Days Coming Up

If you don’t have a Washington State Discover Pass, check the calendar of fee-free days at Washington State Parks, and plan accordingly for your next visit. This is a great way for out-of-state visitors to enjoy a complimentary visit to one of Washington States many states, including the two largest ones, Riverside and Mount Spokane State Parks, both located in Spokane County.

If you already have a Discover Pass, invite your friends or family who don’t yet have a Discover Pass to join you for a hike or bike ride. Find the 2022 calendar of Discover Pass Free Days at parks.state.wa.us. January 1 and 17, 2022, are the first out of 12 free days.

U.S. National Park Service also offers free entrance days, starting with Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Holly Weiler is a long-time contributor to Out There Venture.  

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The recent round of nominations for Spokane County Park’s Conservation Futures program additions received eight applicants. A public meeting to present the nominations and discuss the process for determining which of the properties was held via Zoom on September 9th. Find updates, see survey results, and the latest news about Conservation Futures at Spokanecounty.org.

National Public Lands Day

Get outside and play (for free!) on National Public Lands Day, September 25! Discover Passes will not be required for day-use at Washington State Parks, Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife lands, and Department of Natural Resources lands all day.

Sept. 25 is also a National Parks fee-free day and a good time to plan a road trip to Mount Rainier or Glacier National Park.

Public Comments Sought on Fees & Rec Site Changes

The Colville National Forest is considering some fee additions and increases at several recreation sites across the 1.1-million acre northeast Washington forest. The complete list of locations and public comment information is available through September 30 on the agency’s website.

Some notable highlights include a proposal to include the recently restored Salmo Mountain Fire Lookout on the cabin rental reservation system, as well as the Frater Lake warming cabin.

Run for the Woods

The Kaniksu Land Trust will be hosting a fall fundraiser trail run event at Pine Street Woods in Sandpoint on October 9. All of the event proceeds from this first Run for the Woods will benefit the trust, so come run for a good cause!  

Volunteer Trail Projects

Lend a hand on one of these upcoming trail projects. If you can’t make it, remember to check out these refurbished trails once they are finished:

• Idaho Trails Association will be hosting project days in North Idaho this fall, including at Parker Ridge and Chimney Rock (Idahotrailsassocation.org).
• Washington Trails Association will be continuing work on Mount Spokane projects through September, then transitioning to trail improvements within Spokane County Parks. Look for a fall grand opening to the new trailhead and trail at Etter Ranch at the south end of Antoine Peak. Other project sites include Hauser Conservation Area and Slavin Ranch (Wta.org).
• Friends of Scotchman Peak Wilderness will be hosting a National Public Lands Day project at Goat Mountain on September 25 (Scotchmanpeaks.org).
• Evergreen East Mountain Bike Alliance is continuing work on the new trail 290 at Mount Spokane with approximately 0.5 mile remaining. Once snow returns, the focus will turn to a reroute of one of the steepest sections of the Edith Hansen Trail at Liberty Lake Regional Park (Evergreeneast.org).
• Blue Mountains Land Trust will be hosting a weekend project at Camp Wooten State Park with camping and meals included for a nominal fee, September 24-26 (Bmlt.org).

Holly Weiler is a long-time contributor to Out There Venture who plans to spend her fall finding gold in the nearby hills (larch season!).

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Recreation visits spike

The data is in, and confirms recreational visits to United States Forest Service lands saw a huge jump in 2020. Dispersed recreation sites and Wilderness Areas saw the largest spike in visitors, with an increase of 25% over the previous year. The information comes from National Visitor Use Monitoring data. Hiking/walking is the top recreational activity, with 48.8% of visitors participating. “Viewing Natural Features” comes in as a close second with 44.4%.

Great American Outdoors Act proposed projects for 2022 announced

In our region, highlights include bridge replacements within the Colville National Forest and funds for addressing deferred maintenance needs on the Elkhorn Crest National Scenic Trail and within the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area.

Spokane County’s Conservation Futures Program accepting property nominations

The most recent round of nominations to Spokane County Park’s Conservation Futures funding program is open through July 31. Properties are currently being nominated for consideration for inclusion in the program. Once the nominations close, a public meeting will be held in early September to gather input on the nominations, which will be ranked by Spokane County Parks’ Land Evaluation Committee later this fall.

Free public hikes in the Scotchman Peaks

Check out the website for Friends of Scotchman Peak Wilderness for their free summer hiking series on “Family Fun in the Forest.” There are several family-friendly hikes in the series in July and August, along with strenuous hike offerings for those looking for a more challenging hike. These hikes are sure to fill up, so register soon!

How to score free access to Washington State Parks

August 25 is a free entry day at all Washington State Parks.

If you or someone you know is on a tight budget, remember that many public libraries also have Discover Passes available for check-out with a library card. Spokane County Library District has 22 “Check out Washington” backpacks available by reservation too. The backpacks include a Discover Pass, binoculars, and several field guides. Patrons may use the pass for seven days of exploration at any Washington State Park.

You can also earn a free one-year Discover Pass through state parks volunteerism: Washington Trails Association, Spokane Nordic Ski Association, and Evergreen East will all be hosting volunteer trailwork events at Mount Spokane State Park this summer.

Find the schedule for upcoming volunteer days at each nonprofit’s website.

Free days at Glacier National Park

Two fee-free days are planned in August at Glacier National Park. The first is August 4, the one year anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act, and the second is August 25, the National Park Service birthday.

Holly Weiler writes The Trailhead column in each issue of Out There. During July and August she will be splitting her time between the garden and wilderness as she leads trail work crews into the Salmo Priest for Washington Trails Association.

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Learn more about the financial side of State Parks and other related policies at the upcoming Commission meeting and work session in March.

OLYMPIA – March 13, 2013 – At its regular meeting next week in Olympia, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will consider adoption of a transformation strategy intended to provide guidance into the foreseeable future as the agency is financed primarily on use fees.

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Thursday, March 21, in the Auditorium of the Department of Labor and Industries, 7273 Linderson Way S.W., Tumwater. The Commission will take a break from 2 to 3 p.m., when the proceedings will turn to celebrating the 100^th anniversary of the state park system, which was created on March 19, 1913.

A full Commission meeting agenda is available online at www.parks.wa.gov/agency/commissionmeetings/. Time for public comment is provided at all regular meetings, which are scheduled six times a year at pre-determined locations around the state.

The Transformation Strategy under consideration stems from a fast and dramatic shift in State Parks financing in recent years. For decades, Washington State Parks has provided recreation and stewardship of natural, cultural and historic resources from a financial base primarily made up of general tax support. In 2008, when the Recession hit and the state was faced with significant revenue shortfalls, the Legislature began to make dramatic decreases in general funding for State Parks. In 2011, the Legislature created the Discover Pass to help replace lost general fund revenues, but Discover Pass fee revenues are not meeting projections. The Commission concluded in 2012 that State Parks needs a “right mix” of funding that includes use fees and donations as well as continued general tax support, if it is to meet its mission to provide benefit to all citizens.

During the past two years, the Commission established the need for a Transformation Strategy to make the changes needed to continue appealing to visitors who now must choose state parks from an array of offerings. Other principles in the strategy include building stronger relationships with volunteers, friends and partners; acquiring appropriate data needed to make strong business decisions; and embracing innovation and technology to ensure relevance and sustainability.

In other business, the Commission will consider policy revisions relating to utility placements on state park land and new fee schedules for authorizing these uses of park lands. Staff each year receive numerous requests for easements for a variety of non-recreational uses of parklands, with the majority for utility placements and roads over, under or through parkland. More than half of State Parks’ easement agreements are within former railroad corridors known as rail-trails, properties that were acquired beginning in the early 1980s. Of more than 500 utility placements, nearly half exist without a documented legal agreement authorizing placement. The new policy and fee schedule would standardize fees, make for more efficient management and provide easement holders clear direction and process for new easements.

The Commission also will consider authorizing the exchange of  the agency’s former Puget Sound Region Office for a commercial property owned by the City of Auburn, which can be used by Parks as working endowment land or divested through public auction. The City property is currently vacant and undeveloped, with a 2013 assessed land value of $833,000. The former Region Office property is currently zoned Public Use and is currently assessed at $582,600.

The Commission will hear several reports, including one on the status of ongoing conversations around the future governance at Fort Worden State Park. In December 2012, the Commission authorized staff to negotiate a management agreement with the Fort Worden Public Development Authority for the area of Fort Worden State Park generally referred to as the campus area of the park. All related Commission agenda items are available online atwww.parks.wa.gov/FortWorden/ (select Governance 2012).

Other reports include a capital construction program update, a forest health update, an annual Washington Administrative Code review and financial and legislative updates.

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