NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

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NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby JuneBug » Wed Oct 25, 2017 7:46 am

Due to massive unfunded maintenance backlogs, the National Parks Service yesterday (Oct. 24) posted its proposal to raise entrance rates at our most visited parks to $70/car during peak season. Remember that this is at the proposal stage; the comment period began yesterday and will be open only until Nov. 23.

The proposed new fee structure would be implemented at Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Denali, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Olympic, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion National Parks with peak season starting on May 1, 2018; in Acadia, Mount Rainier, Rocky Mountain, and Shenandoah National Parks with peak season starting on June 1, 2018; and in Joshua Tree National Park as soon as practicable in 2018.

During the peak season at each park, the entrance fee would be $70 per private, non-commercial vehicle, $50 per motorcycle, and $30 per person on bike or foot. A park-specific annual pass for any of the 17 parks would be available for $75.

The cost of the annual America the Beautiful- The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass, which provides entrance to all federal lands, including parks for a one-year period, would remain $80. Entrance fees are not charged to visitors under 16 years of age or holders of Senior, Military, Access, Volunteer, or Every Kid in a Park (EKIP) passes. The majority of national parks will remain free to enter; only 118 of 417 park sites charge an entrance fee, and the current proposal only raises fees at 17 fee-charging parks.


Here's the important part: A public comment period on the peak-season entrance fee proposal will be open from October 24, 2017 to November 23, 2017, on the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website https://parkplanning.nps.gov/proposedpeakseasonfeerates. Written comments can be sent to 1849 C Street, NW, Mail Stop: 2346 Washington, DC 20240.

For full text, go to the National Park Service's announcement of this proposal here: https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/10-24-201 ... oposal.htm
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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby Woodbutcher » Wed Oct 25, 2017 12:01 pm

It costs a hundred dollars per person to go to Disney World for a day. A family of 4 can go to Yellowstone even with the new proposed fees for 17.50 per person a day. I guess if it fixes the Parks, I'm OK with it.
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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby aggie79 » Wed Oct 25, 2017 1:54 pm

Woodbutcher wrote:It costs a hundred dollars per person to go to Disney World for a day. A family of 4 can go to Yellowstone even with the new proposed fees for 17.50 per person a day. I guess if it fixes the Parks, I'm OK with it.


+1 :thumbsup:
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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby Phooey » Wed Oct 25, 2017 2:51 pm

This fee hike is grossly unfair to low income families whose only vacation might be family camping. A fee hike is warranted but not almost tripling the present fees. These are public lands that should be available to ALL of the public.
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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby jondbar628 » Wed Oct 25, 2017 8:25 pm

These lands are owned by the public, but congress has to allocate your tax money to maintain them. Look at how YOUR congressman votes. It's not the "other" guy (or gal), it's YOUR guy or gal. Everyone blames Congress (rightfully so), but most seem to think that "their" representative is OK (gerrymandering is such a wonderful thing). Look at the voting record instead of the rhetoric. That's the ONLY thing you can believe in today's 'Banana Republic' USA (Courtesy of Citizens United & the supposedly "Supreme Court"). Sorry to hijack the thread, it just Pi--es me off............jg :x
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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby swoody126 » Thu Oct 26, 2017 7:34 am

PEAK SEASON is PEAK because that's when families with children can travel together as a unit

it is the same time period for DISNEY type vacations too BUTT folks who can afford a DISNEY type vacation take them

folks who ¢amp do so primarily because they can't afford to goto DISNEY WORLD and other similar $$$$ resorts

raising(3x) the fees is incomprehensible and will impact families with children dramatically :x

the proposed action will prevent so many families with children from being able to experience our nation's wonderlands

IMHO the only restrictions i feel acceptable are ones dealing w/ population density

for this writer to say any more would put my comments at high risk of stepping over the "political" line

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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby djohnsonnv » Thu Oct 26, 2017 11:56 am

This fee hike is nuts. There needs to be serious concern about pricing out families out of the park system.

Some of my greatest memories in my childhood was camping with the family. I grew up in a single family home. My mom works as a school teacher. During the summer we would take road trips back to our native Wisconsin often taking side stops at the national parks. We often camped along the way. It was a lot of fun but looking back it was probably because we couldn't afford the trip if we stayed in the hotels.

To compare costs with for profit tourist attractions is not justified. These are public lands and they need to be available to all Americans.
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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby Roly Nelson » Thu Oct 26, 2017 6:56 pm

Get ready America, soon the teardroppers and tenters will be a forgotten breed. Look forward to seeing many more 45 foot, million dollar motorhomes in the campgrounds. Big bucks will pay the freight, not us little guys. Anybody want to buy a teardrop, that can't be used anymore?
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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby halfdome, Danny » Thu Oct 26, 2017 8:26 pm

Roly Nelson wrote:Get ready America, soon the teardroppers and tenters will be a forgotten breed. Look forward to seeing many more 45 foot, million dollar motorhomes in the campgrounds. Big bucks will pay the freight, not us little guys. Anybody want to buy a teardrop, that can't be used anymore?
:x :thumbdown: Roly, the used-to-be td camper prior to the quadrupled rate increases

Roly, if you have a senior pass the fee increase will not affect you.
Entrance fees are not charged to visitors under 16 years of age or holders of Senior, Military, Access, Volunteer, or Every Kid in a Park (EKIP) passes. The majority of national parks will remain free to enter; only 118 of 417 park sites charge an entrance fee, and the current proposal only raises fees at 17 fee-charging parks
.
I'm wondering if this increase is in part to curb the lines of traffic from day visitors we see in Yosemite every summer.
In the 1960's they got rid of the fire falls from Glacier Point for that very reason.
They have closed down some gift stores, etc. to curb day visitors and want to close the pool and other attractions too.

:D Danny
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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby rainjer » Thu Oct 26, 2017 10:34 pm

Woodbutcher wrote:It costs a hundred dollars per person to go to Disney World for a day. A family of 4 can go to Yellowstone even with the new proposed fees for 17.50 per person a day. I guess if it fixes the Parks, I'm OK with it.


The entrance fee is good for 7 consecutive days.....

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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby absolutsnwbrdr » Fri Oct 27, 2017 6:09 am

rainjer wrote:
Woodbutcher wrote:It costs a hundred dollars per person to go to Disney World for a day. A family of 4 can go to Yellowstone even with the new proposed fees for 17.50 per person a day. I guess if it fixes the Parks, I'm OK with it.


The entrance fee is good for 7 consecutive days.....

Jeremy


I was hoping that someone would point this out!! THANK YOU!

Yes, the fee is quite the increase, BUT this is for a 7-day pass, and is good for the ENTIRE VEHICLE (for most parks). Plan your trip well, and enjoy yourselves! For those who complain about being local and only going a day at a time a couple times a year, then spend $80 for an annual pass.
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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby mkitchen » Fri Oct 27, 2017 8:45 am

Our National Parks and monuments are a very significant quality of life issue and as such should recieve federal support in addition to entry fees. There are many families that would not be able to bear these additional costs without serious consequences. The fact that the entry fee is good for 7 days does not help when you can't afford to get in to begin with.
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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby rainjer » Fri Oct 27, 2017 9:08 am

Here is the other option, don't raise the fee and close the parks..... Since the federal government has been cutting funding to the parks, they need to make it up some how. Talking with some YSNP park rangers last summer they were telling me they have had to cut staff and rely on volunteers to do stuff that paid staff did before. I for one think they should raise the fees year round, not just in peak times. Remember, you get what you pay for....No money for the park means crappy parks....

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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby Woodbutcher » Fri Oct 27, 2017 12:58 pm

The fee increase is going from 30.00 to 70.00. Now that is a big increase all at one time. With the budget problems we have in this country, we have few options. Pay what it costs to keep the Parks operating or close them like Jeremy mentioned. In a perfect world there is enough money for everyone to do everything. But we have not lived in a perfect world since the Garden of Eden. So if an additional 40.00 keeps you from taking a vacation to a NP, you don't belong taking the trip . When you factor in all the costs of travel it is a small amount to pay. I think if we want to keep our Parks we should support them.

The last time we went to the Tetons and Yellowstone, ( 2015) the rates had just increased. You use to be able to buy a pass that covered both parks. Well they changed that. So you had to buy each park separately. Since the only road up the western part of the state goes through both parks, you are hostage to pay the park entry. The wait to pay was almost 40 minutes. Then wait again at the entry to Yellowstone. The parks are overloaded. If the fees help control the crowds I say fine. Soon we will be bused in or a lottery will be the only way to see some parks. As it is now you have to ride a bus to see Zion NP, and they encourage you to use the buses in Arches NP which we visited this year. We chose to be at the entrance as soon as the park opened and beat a large part of the crowd. The parks have lots of problems, but the fees are low on my list.
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Re: NPS: Proposed Peak Season Fee Hikes $$$

Postby MtnDon » Fri Oct 27, 2017 1:09 pm

I have not researched, but how do the fees charged compare to the rise in the cost of living over the past 20 years, 30 years, 50 years? I would expect user fees to more or less keep abreast of inflation.


The USA does have one of the lowest income tax rates in the world. We either need to pay a time or point of use fee each time we use a public park or whatever, or we have to pay more in taxes that can support different public works.
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