Entrance fees will rise in some national parks

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Be prepared to pay a bit more if you’re headed to some national parks and recreation areas this summer.

After a six-year moratorium, the federal government is increasing the price of admission at some of its public lands and raising the fees charged for camping, boating, cave tours and other activities.

The National Park Service says the money expected to be raised is just a fraction of the $11.5 billion needed to repair and maintain roads, trails and park buildings.

Some members of Congress have expressed concern about the fee increases, but National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis said at a March congressional hearing that visitors are still getting an incredible deal when compared with other recreational pursuits.

“We cannot greet them with failing facilities,” Jarvis said of the 295 million people expected to visit National Park Service properties, which also include sites like the Lincoln Memorial.

Fees have increased in eight parks, including Yosemite, so far and are likely to rise in several dozen more parks in the coming months.

Each park determines how much to charge visitors after public input and approval from Washington. Jarvis told park superintendents last September to begin the public outreach that must accompany fee increases.

The service went to Facebook as part of its efforts to gauge the prospect of higher fees at Yosemite National Park.

Only about a third of the 400-plus properties within the National Park Service system charge an entrance fee. Even in those places that do charge a fee, many visitors are exempted.

For example, federal law requires parks to issue free passes for the disabled and to provide the elderly with the option of buying a lifetime pass for just $10.

Families also can buy an $80 annual pass that allows them to go to as many national parks as they desire, and that price will remain the same.

By comparison, the cost of going to Disneyland for a day is a minimum of $99 for one person age 10 and over.

Fees vary from park to park.