National Park Service Hiking Entry Fees At 130 Parks To Raise Money Needed For Repairs

Before you head to Yosemite or Yellowstone for your next trip, you might want to check the price of admission: the National Park Service is hiking entry fees at 130 locations in order to raise money it needs to fix trails, bridges, and buildings visitors use every day. In some cases, prices will double, or even triple.

Passes for Yosemite in California, for example, will jump from $20 to $30 for a single vehicle entry, the Rocky Mountain in Colorado will see an annual pass go from $40 to $80 and an annual pass for the Everglades will now cost $40 instead of $25.

Fees for camping, showering, paddleboating, and cave tours at 176 parks will also see a hike, reports the Washington Post.

The National Park Service needs $11.5 billion to do all the repairs necessary to keep up with the 293 million people who visit the parks each year, National Parks director Jonathan Jarvis told the Associated Press.

“We cannot greet them with rundown facilities,” he told the Associated Press.

Most parks haven’t seen entry fees go up since 2008, or some, since 2006. Fee increases were put on hold during the recession, so people would still show up.

If you’re not into paying entry fees, there are two days coming up where all parks will be free to access: on Oct. 8, to celebrate “Senior Skip Day,” says a rep from the NPS, as well as Veterans Day, Nov. 11. If you want extras like camping or boats, you’ll still have to pay for those services and reservations.

by Mary Beth Quirk via Consumerist