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Death Valley National Park Goes Cashless

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Published Date

April 12, 2023
If you need to pay the entrance fee, or a camping fee, keep your cash in your wallet and pull out that credit or debit card instead at Death Valley National Park / NPS - Kurt Moses

If you need to pay the entrance fee, or a camping fee, keep your cash in your wallet and pull out that credit or debit card instead starting June 1, 2023, at Death Valley National Park / NPS - Kurt Moses

You already know Mount Rainier National Park is going cashless, as is Lassen Volcanic National Park.  Badlands National Park already has transitioned to cashless payments for park entrance and permit fees as has Cumberland Island National Seashore. Wind Cave National Park won’t accept cash for cave tours, campground fees, or interagency passes. Starting June 1, 2023, you can add Death Valley National Park to the list of National Park System units accepting only credit or debit card payments for camping and entrance fees.    

According to the National Park Service (NPS), last year the park collected $22,000 in cash, which cost over $40,000 to process. Cash handling costs include an armored car contract to transport cash and park rangers’ time counting money and processing paperwork.  The transition to cashless payments will allow the NPS to redirect the $40,000 previously spent processing cash to directly benefit park visitors.   

Entrance and camping fees are used to improve visitor experiences in national parks. In Death Valley National Park, these funds are currently used to clean public restrooms, lead school field trips, host distance learning classroom sessions, provide emergency medical services, repair flood damage at Scotty’s Castle, and more.   

Visitors can use cash to purchase the $30 per vehicle park entrance 7-day pass at several partner locations: 

  • Charles Brown General Store (Shoshone, CA) 
  • Death Valley Natural History Association (Furnace Creek Visitor Center) 
  • Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association (Lone Pine Visitor Center) 
  • Panamint Springs Resort 

Visitors can also purchase entrance passes ahead of time online at recreation.gov/sitepass/deathvalley.   

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