Long before Tim Eyeman was a household name, our Olympia representatives were trying to figure out how they could impose this fee on park users. Several times they tried to enact park admission fees, but legislators who truly represented/feared their constituents killed the plan. Granted, the $5 fee keeps some troublemakers out of the park. Inside the park, your possessions are less apt to be taken by the petty thieves that occasionally prowled the parking areas. I used to stop at Kanaskat Park to check out river conditions, and talk to a fisherman, or two. We used to take out of town guests on a drive thru the park, all the while promoting the WA State Park system. Sometimes, we would stop just to look for future campsites, and maybe use the restrooms. Usually these park visits took less than 30 minutes. Now, I'm one of the 50% who are no longer visiting WA State parks for any reason. Charging people to camp is OK; charging them to picnic is reasonable, charging anyone to enter a public park, and walk about for a few minutes, is dangerously close to charging them for breathing fresh air. Your WDFW access decal ought to get you into any state park IMHO.