Washington § 79A.80.020 - Discover pass.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, a discover pass is required for any motor vehicle to:

(a) Park at any recreation site or lands; or

(b) Operate on any recreation site or lands.

(2) Except as provided in RCW 79A.80.110, the cost of a discover pass is $45. Every four years the office of financial management must review the cost of the discover pass and, if necessary, recommend to the legislature an adjustment to the cost of the discover pass to account for inflation.

(3) A discover pass is valid for one year beginning from the date that the discover pass is marked for activation. The activation date may differ from the purchase date pursuant to any policies developed by the agencies.

(4) Sales of discover passes must be consistent with RCW 79A.80.100.

(5) The discover pass must contain space for two motor vehicle license plate numbers. A discover pass is valid only for those vehicle license plate numbers written on the pass. However, the agencies may offer for sale a family discover pass that is fully transferable among vehicles and does not require the placement of a license plate number on the pass to be valid. The agencies must collectively set a price for the sale of a family discover pass that is no more than $50. A discover pass is valid only for use with one motor vehicle at any one time.

(6)(a) One complimentary discover pass must be provided to a volunteer who performed 24 hours of service on agency-sanctioned volunteer projects in a year. The agency must provide vouchers to volunteers identifying the number of volunteer hours they have provided for each project. The vouchers may be brought to an agency to be redeemed for a discover pass.

(b) Married spouses under chapter 26.04 RCW may present an agency with combined vouchers demonstrating the collective performance of 24 hours of service on agency-sanctioned volunteer projects in a year to be redeemed for a single complimentary discover pass.

(7) A lifetime disabled veteran pass issued under RCW 79A.05.065(3) is the equivalent of a discover pass for purposes of this chapter, as long as the person to whom the pass was issued is a driver or passenger in the vehicle when accessing a site or lands.

Effective date—2025 c 323: "Sections 1 through 5 of this act take effect October 1, 2025." [ 2025 c 323 s 7.]

Findings—Intent—2025 c 323: "The legislature finds that both visitors and residents of Washington state enjoy the opportunity to recreate and experience the beauty of state-owned public lands, like state parks. The legislature also finds that the costs to provide access to these lands has been successfully supported by user-based recreation fees and that the costs of continued support and access has outpaced the revenue generated by fees. The discover pass and day-use permits that are used to gain access to state-owned lands have been in place since 2011, and the cost for the discover pass and permits has not changed since then. However, the costs to maintain recreational access have steadily increased. The original legislation anticipated the potential need to consider adjustment in the cost of both the discover pass and day-use permits. The legislature intends to maintain recreational access for all by updating the cost of the discover pass commensurate with the inflationary costs to carry out state recreational programs." [ 2025 c 323 s 1.]

Effective date—2012 c 261: See note following RCW 79A.80.010.

Effective date—2011 c 320: See note following RCW 79A.80.005.