Forget the fee envelopes - soon, you'll be able to pay for park fees with your smart phone.
The Columbia River Gorge has become the first big park in the Pacific Northwest to roll out "Your Pass Now," an on-site digital fee payment, allowing visitors to forgo physical payment stations for online payment at the trailhead.
The technological advancement isn't perfect, but it offers a glimpse into the future of the payment of day use fees at parks around the country.
"In general this is really revolutionary," Rachel Pawlitz, spokeswoman for the national scenic area, said.
The new system allows gorge visitors to pay for $5 day use fees online at www.yourpassnow.com before they go, or by smart phone in person at the recreation sites. No paper receipt in the car is needed - the online process asks for your license plate number, so rangers can track whether you've paid up or not.
The big question is cell service. If you try to pay at the trailhead on your phone, but don't have service to do so, what are you supposed to do?
There's no easy answer. Pawlitz assured that most trailheads in the gorge have cell service, but recommended people not rely on it all the time. It might be safer to pay your fee at home before you go, or on your trip out.
"In general we encourage people to plan ahead and avoid relying on cell phones and GPS for navigation," Pawlitz said. "That said, you can't beat the convenience of having this option once you reach the site."
The Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area is the fourth park to roll out Your Pass Now. It joins Acadia National Park, Colorado National Monument, and Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
The digital payment only applies to recreation areas managed by the U.S. Forest Service, and doesn't affect payment at the several Oregon and Washington state parks in the Columbia River Gorge. Fee areas include the Bridge of the Gods, Eagle Creek, Wahclella Falls and Herman Creek trailheads in Oregon; the Dog Mountain and Bonneville trailheads, and Sam's Walker and St. Cloud picnic sites in Washington; and the Larch Mountain and Wyeth/Gorton Creek trailheads on the Oregon side, which are open seasonally.
Visitors going to multiple sites only need to purchase a day use fee at one - they are transferable to any other U.S. Forest Service fee area in the Columbia River Gorge.
--Jamie Hale | jhale@oregonian.com | @HaleJamesB
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