A Discover Pass that costs $10 per day or $30 per year is almost always required to park your car on Washington recreation lands, but not on the following 12 days in 2025, when visitor parking will be free, according to the Washington State Discover Pass Program.
Here’s the list of free-parking days in 2025 at sites managed by Washington State Parks, the Washington Department of Natural Resources and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife:
- Jan. 1: New Year’s Day (and hosted First Day hike events)
- Jan. 20: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
- March 9: Billy Frank Jr.’s birthday (Frank was a member of the Nisqually Indian Tribe and a force for justice for local tribes and endangered salmon.)
- March 19: Washington State Parks’ 111th birthday
- April 22: Earth Day
- June 7-8: Free fishing weekend
- June 19: Juneteenth (the end of slavery in the U.S.)
- Aug. 9: Smokey Bear’s birthday (a new free day in 2025)
- Sept. 27: National Public Lands Day
- Oct. 10: World Mental Health Day
- Nov. 11: Veterans Day
Special Sno-Park permits are still required at state Sno-Parks on all days, including the above free days, during the winter season.
