[Cyclopath]

Mount Rainier to stop taking cash at entrance, campgrounds Beginning May 26, only electronic card payments — including mobile phone payments — will be accepted for entrance fees and campgrounds. Visitors who can pay only with cash will be able to buy a prepaid pass from a local vendor before coming to the park. Spokesperson Kevin Bacher said the park is currently working on identifying vendors. They will likely be gateway businesses that already serve a lot of recreational customers, he said. Only about 2% of visitors over the past few years have used cash, Bacher said. https://www.seattletimes.com/life/outdoors/mount-rainier-to-stop-taking-cash-at-entrance-campgrounds/?amp=1

[Bruce Albert]

So nice to see Mr. Dungeon plugging away at the important stuff, despite those nasty staffing shortages. I just pulled out a dollar bill and checked. It still reads "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private."

[KascadeFlat]

Interesting…we were there last weekend and the ranger pointed out to me that they no longer accept cash. I thought I had just missed the memo and that was a policy change during Covid. Good to know it’s recent. Another point in favor of the America the Beautiful pass!

[Cyclopath]

[thunderhead]

Cash? What primitive dark ages nonsense!

[jinx'sboy]

As much as I hate to see this - it does make sense. For the Government to handle cash and reconcile receipts, etc is gigantic pain. Back in the day, mid-80s, I had a financial type person tell me “The Forest Service spends more $ auditing the petty cash funds in all its offices, than it does the money in a multi-billion $ timber sales program.” There is also the issue of employee safety. Employees, often working alone, picking up and transporting cash in remote locations, isn’t a good situation. I suspect this is probably the major reason to get away from cash.

[Bosterson]

[zimmertr]

I just flash em my America the Beautiful pass and am through the gate in seconds. After waiting in line a couple dozen minutes for all the cash/card exchanges, of course.

[Chief Joseph]

Just another move toward a cashless society. I was happy to see that here in N Idaho a Bar-Resort and a Mexican food place began charging a 4% fee for credit card purchases, so of course I now use cash at those establishments. Last summer in Priest River, a Burger Express stand stopped taking cash. There was such a public uproar that they soon did away with that practice.

[Cyclopath]

I didn't realize people used cash for anything but drugs.

[olderthanIusedtobe]

Like the tv commercial says (is it AFFLAC?), cash is as good as money. Or maybe not anymore.

[Randito]

Even Dick's drive in has moved away from cash. They only started accepting card payments quite recently. They now only accept card payments, for a while they would take "Exact amount cash only" , but the last time I got a Deluxe and a Cheeseburger, that sign was no longer visible.

[Cyclopath]

Only 2% of visitors pay in cash, and entry permits will still be available from local vendors outside the park who accept cash. So this doesn't sound like a big deal. But (no matter what you think about cash or digital) Rainier is a wonderful place to hike, you should all go there. And know how to pay at the gate. (Rant: I wish we could just fund public lands and not charge peke to visit them.)

[Hesman]

Olympic NP has been doing this for a couple of years now. Camped at Heart of the Hills in 2021 and it was credit/debit card only for camping fees. I was expecting to pay cash and luckily had enough money in the bank and just enough cell service to pay online. I asked about it later on and the park employee said it made things a lot easier. The examples provided by the park employee was that the park didn’t have to have pay for vandalism repairs at campground pay stations and they didn’t have to employ people to count and process thousands of dollars on a weekly basis during the busy season and go to bank several times a week to deposit all the cash. I don’t remember how many years ONP has not accepted cash at entrance stations, but probably less than 5 years, at least at the Hurricane Ridge entrance to the park. Last year when I went to Rainier there were debit/credit only signs at the Nisqually entrance. I just show my America the Beautiful pass and get a “thank you and enjoy your visit” in return.

[zimmertr]