Children slide down a small hill at the Mount St. Helens Trac Riders Christmas party at the newly completed warming shelter at the Marble Mountain Sno-Park.
Washington State Parks winter Sno-Park permits will be available for purchase Nov. 1, with some changes to regulations and permit requirements.
“Sno-Park permits allow visitors to park in specially cleared, designated parking lots with access to areas around the state for cross-country skiing, skijoring, fat-tire biking, snowmobiling, snow biking, dog sledding, snowshoeing, tubing and other winter sports and snow play,” according to Washington State Parks.
Starting this year, visitors will no longer need both a Discover Pass and a daily Sno-Park permit in parks on State Parks property.
“The Winter Recreation Program often heard from permit holders about how cumbersome the old requirements were,” said Winter Recreation Program Manager Pamela McConkey. “This change in permit and pass requirements means less confusion for winter recreation enthusiasts.”
In another change, snow bikes are now classified as snowmobiles in state law. Snow bikes use motorcycle frames and engines but have a ski in place of the front tire and a continuous track, like a snowmobile, in the place of the rear tire.
To get a Sno-Park permit, go to parks.state.wa.us/winter.
