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Heads up campers: Mount Rainier National Park is officially cashless

As of Friday, Mount Rainier National Park is officially cashless, with the start of its new system to only accept card payments for entrance fees and campgrounds.

The shift to going cash-free was made in an effort to “help the park manage visitor dollars more effectively,” Park Superintendent Greg Dudgeon said.

“Going cashless reduces the amount of time park staff spend handling cash, increases the amount of fee revenue available to support critical projects and visitor services, and improves accountability while also reducing risk,” he added.

Moving forward, anyone who is unable to pay with a card can still use cash to get a prepaid pass from a handful of local vendors. That said, work to identify those vendors is ongoing. As of now, that list includes: Ashford Valley Grocery, Ashford General Store, and Ashford pottery. Partners in Packwood and Enumclaw have not yet been announced.

Advance reservations for campgrounds will also still go through the recreation.gov website, while day-of first-come/first-served campsites will be cashless.

For more details on fees and passes you can go to the Mount Rainier National Park page at this link.