HAWAII VOLCANOES NATIONAL PARK, Hawaii — Starting May 26, visitors to Hawaii Volcanoes National Park will need to use credit or debit cards or digital site passes to pay for park entrance fees or passes, according to a news release.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is the state’s first fee-charging national park to provide the digital site pass. Officials say using the digital site pass is a quick and convenient method to enter the park, and saves time, especially during holidays and weekends, such as the upcoming Memorial Day weekend.

Visitors can plan ahead and purchase a digital site pass at the www.recreation.gov website at no extra cost. It must be downloaded to a computer or mobile device; printing the pass prior to arriving at the park is recommended because of limited connectivity. Visitors can purchase the pass up to six months ahead of arrival.

Entrance fees help to improve the visitor experience by enabling repairs and maintenance of park roads and facilities, trail improvements, visitor and resource protection services and more.

The move to a cashless system will reduce the time spent on managing cash, increase revenue to support projects and services, and improve accountability and reduce risk.

Maui’s Haleakala National Park is considering a similar move. In an email to Spectrum News Hawaii, Jin Prugsawan Harlow, public affairs officer for Haleakala National Park, said, “It's something we are exploring for Haleakala National Park but no timeline has been established.”

Sarah Yamanaka covers events, environmental and community news for Spectrum News Hawaii. She can be reached at sarah.yamanaka@charter.com.