Olympic National Park is full of gorgeous scenery as far as the eye can see. Whether you are on the wilderness coast, along the lakes and rivers, up on ridges or deep in the rainforest, it is hard to not see beautiful nature all over. The scenery of the park inspires adventure and wanderlust, and something as simple as a picture can make you fall in love with Olympic. Starting in June of 2016, a new picture used for the annual pass for Olympic National Park will feature a stunning picture of the Queets Basin by Jake Morrison of Quinault, Washington. The image, shown below, was the winner of a Facebook contest  sponsored by friend of the Park Discover Your Northwest. Picked from nearly 200 images, the picture of the Queets Basin is inspiring, beautiful and a fantastic representation of the diversity of landscapes in America’s 7th most-visited National Park. 

The breathtakingly beautiful Olympic National Park Annual Pass is on sale starting June 1, 2016, costing $50 for unlimited access for a calendar year to Olympic. The rate is an increase of $10 from the current annual pass and the money will be used for visitor facilities like water and wastewater systems, campgrounds, roads, trails and visitor centers. For those only visiting the park once, seven-day entrance fees will also increase on June 1.  The seven-day passes cover vehicles, motorcycles and individual persons and will cost $25, $14 and $10, respectively. All the rates changes to Olympic National Park, including campgrounds and other fees for 2016 can be found on a previous article we wrote. The article also lists all you options for entry to National Parks, including how Military Members can  get free passes.

While some will argue against the rate increases and fees to enter the National Park, they are here to stay. Until congress actually fully funds parks, we can expect them to raise money anyway they can to handle the insane backlog of projects plaguing the NPS. The rate increase is minimal, and costs far less than attending a sporting event or even a movie outing for your family. The National Parks are a much needed part of our culture, and need to be celebrated. That is why I was so excited to hear that Barefoot Jake Morrison’s stunning picture was selected to grace this year’s pass. You can, and should read about his trip on his website.

The New Annual Pass Image for 2016

“My goal was to photograph remote Olympic glaciers, during a record setting drought of 2015. You could hear the roar of glacial melt, as the sun peeked its way over the mountains.  This was just a taste of my wilderness experience.” – Jake Morrison

Jake’s picture is stunning, and he was nice enough to grant us permission to share it with you all. Again, go look at his site and drool over the beautiful adventures he takes in Olympic.