RE: Washington rules??
BY: Jessica Edwards to Donna Ransdell on Fri Jun 28 1996 19:06:53
 > -=> Quoting Donna Ransdell to Jessica Edwards <=-
 > 
 >  > We have indeed been going to the park, but it costs
 >  > money to get in nowadays.  We are planning to go to the NW picnic from
 > 
 >  DR> It was referring to a city or community park...it costs money to use
 >  DR> those there? Wow. We can go to any of the city parks in this area
 >  DR> without a charge - state parks are another matter, and those vary
 >  DR> widely. Of course, those take gasoline to get to, anyway.
 >  DR> -donna
 > 
 > yes it costs just to get into the local parks for parking fees.
 > Even the state parks cost money.  There is no such thing as a free
 > lunch up here :(
 > Jessica
 > 
Hi Jessica! This is the first time I've seen you in this echo :) How are you
doing? We missed you at Craft Night.
Which parks are you going to? Wapato charges for parking during peak hours 
on
weekends during the day) but no one collects the rest of the time. That's 
about
the only Tacoma park anywhere near you that charges for parking. There's a 
ew
Pierce County parks that do, like Spanaway Lake...
I have a map of Tacoma parks on my wall...what are you looking for? There's a
couple near Portland Ave., a couple on Mckinley, and just a few blocks north 
of
Wapato on Sheridan is Ailing Park which has a wading pool and a playground.
Parking is on the street around it.
Dash Point (both the county and state parks) are free for day use, includinng
parking. Dash Point State Park does charge for camping though...
Point Defiance only charges for parking during special events. 
Snake Lake Nature Center (19th and S. Stevens) is always free. There's hiking
trails and an interactive interpretive center that focusses on wetlands and
local animals.
Getting out of Tacoma a little bit, there's a cute park with playground and
wading pool in downtown Puyallup. Also, heading up towards South Hill from
there on Meridian you'll see a sign about 3/4 up the hill directing you to 
turn
left to Wildwood Park. It's beautiful - like up in the mountains!
If you're looking for activities, most of the Tacoma parks have activities 
or
kids during the summer weekdays. If you are there around lunch time, many of
them serve free lunches to the kids and a snack a little later...you don't 
need
to sign up. Just be there when they serve.
Also, you may qualify for a Golden Access pass at the national parks like Mt
Rainier. We have one for my son and it's great! It gets you and everyone in
the car with you into National Parks and national forest parks for free and
camping is half price. All you have to do is go to the ranger station with
proof of disability and they'll issue it there. Heck, with Kirk they didn't
even ask for proof. They accepted our word just on seeing him.
There's lots of free places to go around here. You just have to know where 
they
are ;)
                            ...peace...
                            Alinda Sue...
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