Wallowa-Whitman Forest adds cashless fee payments at recreation sites in 2026

The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest began offering cashless fee payments May 1 at trailheads, day-use areas and most first-come, first-served campgrounds that require a fee or pass, changing what Union County families need to pack before a day trip into the forest.

The system runs through the Recreation.gov app and its Scan & Pay feature. Visitors have to download the app while they still have cellular or Wi-Fi service, then scan a QR code at the site. Once the app is installed and an account is set up, Scan & Pay can work offline at places without service. The Forest Service said the user receives a confirmation code to display on a dashboard or campsite post, and the payment can stay marked pending until service returns.

The new option does not replace every old method. Fee tubes remain available, and cash or check are still accepted at fee stations. That backup matters in eastern Oregon, where many recreation trips start on paved roads near town and end on forest roads with weak or no data service. It also matters for older visitors, tourists who do not travel with reliable cell service, and anyone who is used to paying cash at the trailhead.

The change reaches a forest that spans about 2.4 million acres in northeastern Oregon and western Idaho. Recreation.gov says it processes more than 4 million transactions a year and already handles reservations, permits, passes, tickets and lotteries for federal recreation sites. The Wallowa-Whitman’s passes page lists a National Forest Day Pass at $5, along with annual and interagency options, and notes that fee-free days apply at some day-use sites while concession-operated locations may vary. The forest also lists 45 campgrounds on Recreation.gov.

Forest managers said the cashless option should reduce the time staff spend collecting and processing cash and checks, which could free employees to help visitors and maintain recreation sites. Recreation fees also remain a key source of revenue for improvements at national forest recreation areas. The shift comes after several Wallowa-Whitman campgrounds and two trailheads began charging overnight camping fees in 2024, and after fee tubes on the La Grande Ranger District were damaged and money was stolen from some tubes that same year. For the next Union County trip to a forest site, the biggest change may be simple: the payment plan now starts before the road into the woods does.