Plan the trip.
Then run it.
Route tools, a pack list that earned its keep, a seasonal calendar for the PNW, and the Leave No Trace principles — written the way we use them, not the way they read in a brochure.
The four checks we never skip.
Permits, passes, and public-land basics
Most of our trips run on one of a small stack of passes. If you only buy one thing for a year on public land, make it the America the Beautiful pass — it covers NPS, USFS fee day-use sites, BLM, and most of the Fish & Wildlife refuges.
- America the Beautiful — $80/year, covers federal lands nationwide.
- Northwest Forest Pass — $30/year, covers USFS sites in OR + WA. Redundant if you have AtB.
- Oregon State Parks Day-Use — needed at a handful of coast + central OR state parks.
- Timed entry — check Mt. Rainier, Crater Lake rim drive, and some NF trailheads in summer.
If the destination page on this site links to the managing agency, tap through before you go — permit rules change by season.
Plan carefully. Travel lightly. Leave it better than you found it.