Jan. 1 to be free day at state parks

Peninsula Daily News

Entrance fees for state parks will be waived Thursday, New Year’s Day.

State park visitors will not be required to display a Discover Pass, a $30 annual permit, or to pay a one-day fee of $10.

A Discover Pass will be required to access state Department of Fish and Wildlife and state Department of Natural Resources lands.

Olympic National Park is not offering a free admission day on Thursday.

State parks on the North Olympic Peninsula are Bogachiel near Forks, Dosewallips near Brinnon, Fort Flagler on Marrowstone Island, Fort Townsend and Fort Worden in Port Townsend, Anderson Lake State Park near Chimacum and Sequim Bay near Sequim.

New Year’s Day is the first of 11 opportunties in 2015 when a Discover Pass is not required to visit a state park.

Others are:

■   Jan. 18-19 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

■   March 19 — State Parks’ 102nd birthday.

■   April 4 — Saturday Spring Day.

■   April 22 — Earth Day.

■   May 10 — Sunday Spring Day.

■   June 6 — National Trails Day.

■   June 13 — National Get Outdoors Day.

■   Aug. 25 — National Park Service Birthday.

■   Sept. 26 — National Public Lands Day.

■   Nov. 11 — Veterans Day.

Free days apply only to day use, not to overnight stays or rented facilities.

For more information, see parks.wa.gov.

Another option for New Year’s Day is to dig for razor clams.

Beach areas at Long Beach, Twin Harbors, Mocrocks and Copalis will be open for digging that day.

Low tide will be at 4:01 p.m.

For more information, see wdfw.wa.gov.

Olympic National Park’s first day of free admission will be Jan. 19 for Martin Luther King Jr.

The park is offering nine entrance fee-free days in 2015.

Others are:

■   Feb. 14-16 — Presidents Day weekend.

■   April 18-19 — National Park Week’s opening weekend.

■   Aug. 25 — National Park Service’s 99th birthday.

■   Sept. 26 — National Public Lands Day.

■   Nov. 11 — Veterans Day.

Usually, the national park has an entrance fee of $15 per car.

On fee free days, other park fees, including wilderness camping and campground fees, will remain in effect.

For more information, see http://tinyurl.com/PDN-nationalparkfreedays.

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