Peninsula Daily News
news sources
A visit to Olympic National Park could cost $25 a car next year as part of a proposal that would boost fees at 131 parks nationwide.
That’s an increase of 67 percent over the current entry fee of $15.
Under the National Park Service proposal, an annual pass would increase to $50 from $30, and the fee for individuals would see the biggest increase, to $12 from $5, Tracy Swartout, acting superintendent of Mount Rainier National Park, told The News Tribune of Tacoma.
The proposal also could mean higher campground fees, going from $12 to $15 per night to “about $20,” Swartout said.
The parks haven’t increased their fees since 2006, when admission climbed to $15 from $10.
In an Aug. 14 memo obtained by The Denver Post, National Parks Service Director Jon Jarvis told regional directors that the fee increase would allow parks to enhance visitor facilities and services as the Park Service’s 2016 centennial celebration approaches.
“The proposed increases . . . will allow us to invest in the improvements necessary to provide the best possible park experience to our visitors,” Jarvis said in the memo.
Swartout said entry fees can be used for projects such as facility improvements, upgrading visitor amenities and repairing damaged trails.
The money cannot be used for day-to-day operational costs.
The National Park Service plans to have public comment meetings next month on the proposal. No locations or schedule has been developed yet.