2025 Park Use Fees Update Proposal

In 2025, Clark County Parks and Nature is proposing an update to park user fees to address a maintenance and operations funding deficit

Park user fees, such as parking fees and picnic shelter reservation fees, help cover costs associated with maintaining and operating park facilities.

While Clark County park user fees have not changed since 2010, expenses, such as supplies, materials and labor costs, have greatly increased. This may not be surprising to you; we're all paying more for the items we use every day, like toilet paper, electricity, garbage disposal, and more. Parks are not immune to these same increasing costs.

To help close the current funding gap, the Parks and Nature division is proposing an update to user fees. These changes were developed over more than a year, with input from stakeholders and the Clark County Council, and thorough financial analysis.

Proposed changes

Table showing that daily parking fees are changing from $2-$8 (varied by vehicle type) to $5, annual parking passes are changing from $30 to $40, daily picnic shelter reservations are increasing by $10, and meeting room reservation hourly rate is changing from $15-$25 to $50-150.

*Daily parking fees are charged at four regional parks: Frenchman's Bar, Klineline Pond at Salmon Creek, Lewisville and Vancouver Lake. 

Picnic shelters are reservable for events taking place between April 1 and Oct. 31 annually, at those four regional parks, Captain William Clark Regional Park at Cottonwood Beach, and these community parks: Fairgrounds, Felida, Hazel Dell, Hockinson Meadows, Orchards and Pacific. Between Nov. 1 and March 31 each year, picnic shelters are free to use on a first come, first served basis. The Bud Van Cleve meeting room at Luke Jensen Sports park is reservable year-round.

Click here to download an informational flyer about the proposed fee changes

Graphic reading, "Operations expenditures per capita. Clark County: $15.62. National median: $57.61. For agencies serving populations >250,000. Each icon is $5." There are three and a tenth dollar-bill icons under "Clark County", and 11 and a half dollar-bill icons under "National median".
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Graph showing minimum and maximum parking fees charged at Clark County, City of Vancouver, Washington State, Metro, and Oregon State parks. Clark County is the lowest.
If the proposed fees are adopted, Clark County parks will still have one of the lowest parking fees for similar parks in the metro area. Click to enlarge.
A timeline of council actions required for adoption of proposed fee updates. Text of this graphic is included in the text box to the left.
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Improving access: fee free days and Check Out Washington

PARKING FEE-FREE DAYS (NEW)
Twelve parking fee-free days, including some weekdays, some weekend days, some federal holidays and other observances. Our goal is to select fee days that are different than the fee-free days for state parks, increasing the number of free days for public lands in the county.

CHECK OUT A FREE PASS (NEW)
We are proposing adding county regional parks parking passes to the Check Out Washington backpacks available to check out for free from Fort Vancouver Regional Library locations.

Key Dates

These are the steps that must be taken for council to adopt updated fees. Some parks in the county's park system are part of a municipal parks district called the Greater Clark Parks District (GCPD). While the processes vary slightly for GCPD parks and non-GCPD parks, all fee changes must be approved by a vote of the Clark County Council after a series of public hearings.

Learn more about council meetings, public hearings, and how to participate at clark.wa.gov/councilors/clark-county-council-meetings. 

Oct. 14: Public hearing
A public hearing at the Clark County Council meeting about adoption of the proposed changes at regional parks supported by the general fund (Frenchman's Bar, Lewisville and Vancouver Lake); public hearings include time for public comment. At this meeting, council can vote on fee increases at non-parks district parks.

Nov. 4: Consent items
Procedural action where council votes to hold public hearings about parks funding at the Dec. 2 meeting

Dec. 2: Public hearings
Two public hearings for the Greater Clark Parks District (GCPD); council can vote on these items

  1. Fee increases at GCPD parks (Klineline Pond at Salmon Creek Regional Park and shelter reservation fees at GCPD community parks)
  2. Use of allowed 1% property tax increase and banked capacity for the GCPD

Dec. 8: New fees implemented
If council votes on Dec. 2 to adopt the proposed updates to user fees, the new fees will go into effect Monday, Dec. 8.

More information

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Funding for county parks is divided into two categories: 

  1. Operations Funding: Funding for routine maintenance and operations costs such as labor, supplies and utilities. Sources:
    • Greater Clark Parks District: Included on property taxes within the Greater Clark Parks District; the levy is less than 2% of the average home's property tax bill
    • Clark County General Fund: County fund supported by property taxes and pays for a variety of county services and programs. Parks receives a very small portion of the county's General Fund.
    • Park user fees: Parking fees, picnic shelter reservation fees, etc.
    • Reimbursables: Work that Parks and Nature crews do for other county departments, which Parks and Nature is reimbursed for
    • Other: Interest earnings, for example
  2. Capital Funding: Funding restricted to use for acquiring park land, construction of new parks or significant improvements to existing parks.
    • Park Impact Fees (PIF): Paid for by developers to support parkland acquisition, development of new parks, and addition of new features to existing parks that increase capacity
    • Real Estate Excise Tax (REET): Collected upon most sales of real property
    • Grants, other: From agencies such as the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office
    • Clark County General Fund
    • Greater Clark Parks District

In 2025, of total funding for county parks, only 27% can be used for maintenance and operations of existing parks. 

Bar showing that out of nearly $30,000,000, most (about three quarters) is capital funding; operations funding is about a quarter of the total.
Two doughnut graphs, one showing operating funding and one showing capital funding. Operating: funding for maintenance and operations costs such as labor, supplies and utilities. Sources: GCPD, 55%. Clark County General Fund: 23%. Park user fees: 12%. Reimbursable, 7%. Other, 3%. Capital: restricted to use for acquiring park land and construction or improvement of park facilities. PIF: 56%. REET: 32%. Clark County General Fund: 2%. GCPD: 1%. Grants, other: 9%.
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The costs of utilities, labor, materials and supplies are increasing rapidly. This is due to many factors, including inflation and changes in the labor market.

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It includes routine tasks that keep parks open, safe and clean. Examples include mowing, cleaning restrooms, repairs in response to vandalism, trail maintenance, tree care, infrastructure maintenance, and more.

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Clark County's park system is currently funded at 22% of the level of peer agencies nationally. Increasing user fees to align with current market rates is one way to increase funding. If the proposed fee changes are adopted by council, the 2026 operations and maintenance deficit for regional parks will decrease 80%, and it will decrease 8.6% for the Greater Clark Parks District. While producing enough revenue to fully fund expenses will require the use of several different strategies, this fee update proposal is an important part of the funding strategy and one that can be implemented quickly.

Graphic reading, "How much will the proposed fee updates reduce the parks operations funding deficit?" There are two bar graphs. One shows adopting the fee proposal will decrease the General Fund regional parks operations funding deficit by 80%. One shows that adopting the fee proposal will decrease the Greater Clark Parks District operations funding deficit by 8.6%.
Puzzle graphic showing funding strategies with the pieces relative in size to the strategy's percent of the whole. User fee updates, 14%. Partnerships, 15%. Regional funding, 42%. GCPD annual 1% levy, 13%. Increased efficiencies, 11%. Contract updates, 5%.

Fully addressing the county parks system's operations and maintenance budget deficit will require the use of several different strategies, including: 

  • User fee update: Updating the parking, shelter reservation and other use fees to market rate
  • Partnerships: Expanding programming in parks through partnerships with businesses
  • Regional funding: A task team comprised of representatives from the county and all of the cities and towns within the county is currently exploring models of regional funding for parks utilized by other communities in the state and nationally.
  • GCPD annual 1% levy: Adopting the allowed 1% annual increase of the Greater Clark Parks District property tax levy
  • Increased efficiencies: Seeking out ways to increase operational efficiencies
  • Contract updates: Updating lease agreements and contracts with user groups to recover costs of utilities, operations and maintenance
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In the Greater Clark Parks District, less than 2% of the property tax bill is for the GCPD levy. In the unincorporated area, inside and outside of the GCPD, less than 10% of the property tax bill goes to the Clark County General Fund. A very small percentage of the General Fund supports parks.

Graphic reading, "How much of your property taxes go to parks? A property taxpayer with a median-value home in Clark County: Pays less than $6 per month towards the Greater Clark Parks District*; Pays less than $30 per month to the county's general fund; parks only receives a very small portion of that amount; *If they live in the Greater Clark Parks District."
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Much of parks funding is restricted, meaning that how it can be spent is restricted by law. For example, many types of capital funding cannot be spent on routine maintenance and operations.

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To strive for adopted level of service standards for our growing population, new parks are being developed using funds restricted for parkland acquisition, park development and major capital projects.

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If council votes to adopt the proposed updates to park use fees, the new fees will go into effect Monday, Dec. 8. Since picnic shelter reservations can be made 11 months in advance, some reservations have already been made for 2026. Any reservations for 2026 dates made before council votes to adopt fee changes for 2026 will be honored. Any reservations made after the adoption of the proposal would be charged the new, approved rates. This also applies to reservations for the Bud Van Cleve meeting room at Luke Jensen Sports Park.