Yosemite, other parks seek fee hikes
Yosemite National Park is floating the idea of raising its entrance fee from $20 a car to $30, and charging $1 to $4 more for family campground sites, a park statement says.
Other large national parks, including Yellowstone and Grand Canyon, are seeking entrance fee increases to $30 as well.
Yosemite says it hasn’t raised fees since 1997 and would use the $10 increase charged to each vehicle that enters the park to pay for maintenance and more visitor services.
It also proposes a $15 charge for individuals without vehicles and $25 for motorcyclists; each currently pays $10. The price of an annual park pass would increase from $40 to $60. The fee increase may be implemented as soon as early 2015.
“The additional revenue from the fee increase will be used to enhance visitor services, including repair and maintenance of park facilities, restoration and rehabilitation of visitor service buildings, additional park programs and transportation services and increase resource protection,” the statement says. Family campground sites inside the park cost $5 to $20; Yosemite could increase them to $6 to $24. “The park will utilize comparable campground rates and public feedback to determine if an adjustment to campground fees is warranted,” the statement says.
Of 59 parks that have the “national park” designation, Yosemite is No. 3 with 3.69 million visitors in 2013. No. 1 is Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina (9.34 million visitors) and No. 2 is the Grand Canyon in Arizona (4.56 million).
National parks served 273.6 million visitors in 2013, a decrease that, the park service said, was due in part to the 16-day shutdown of the federal government that also closed parks.
They also spurred $26.8 million in economic activity and were responsible for nearly a quarter of a million jobs, a national report showed.
You can weigh in on the proposed fee increase during a 30-day comment period that continues through Nov. 20. Additionally, the park will hold an open house 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Nov. 12 at the Yosemite Valley Auditorium. Comments may be sent by email to yose_planning@nps.gov or by U.S. mail to Superintendent, Attention Proposed Fee Increase, P.O. Box 577, Yosemite, Calif. 95389.