The following is a press release from Mount Rainier National Park:

Beginning May 26, Mount Rainier National Park will transition to a fully cashless fee system and will accept only electronic card payments for entrance fees and campgrounds.

Visitors who are only able to pay with cash will be able to purchase a prepaid pass from various local vendors before coming to the park. The park is currently working to identify vendors to sell these passes. The Mount Rainier National Park Annual Pass, private vehicle passes, motorcycle passes, individual passes and backcountry permits may also be purchased online at recreation.gov. Advance campground reservations will continue to be available through recreation.gov and payments for first-come, first served camp sites will be cashless. Concession-run hotels, bookstores, and restaurants inside the park will still accept cash or card payments.

“Entrance fees are an important source of revenue national parks use to improve the visitor experience,” said Greg Dudgeon, park superintendent. “Moving to a cashless system helps the park manage visitor dollars more effectively. 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.”

Fees are used for road and facility repairs and maintenance, trail improvements, accessibility improvements, visitor and resource protection services, and more.

More information about visiting the park can be found at the Mount Rainier National Park website. Information about fees and passes is available here.