You may have heard in the news or online National Park fee changes. It is true they are changing, and the infographic below should provide some clarification for what is happening.
Why is there confusion around these changes? Mostly because the actual changes are very different than the original proposal that the National Parks Service submitted for public comment last fall.
That proposal wanted to raise prices at only the most popular parks (17) of them, for only the busiest months of the year (normally May through September). But the price hikes were very dramatic, up to almost three times the old price in some cases. That plan received significant public backlash during the comment period, and so it was altered into the current plan which began taking effect on May 1st. See the infographic below for more details, and read on for my thoughts on the changes.
To find out exactly what is happening to your favorite parks see the NPS website.
My Thoughts on the National Park Fee Changes
I have mixed feelings about the National Park fee changes. I love the National Parks and I want everyone to be able to visit and enjoy them. But I understand that the have to be maintained and that maintaining them takes money. Most people will say that is what tax dollars are for, but obviously the tax budget alone and current fees are not covering the cost of maintenance and the current administration is not friendly towards the National Parks or public lands in general, so this problem is likely only to get worse.
So I understand the need, but I have concerns about whether these changes will produce the desired results. Instead of dramatically increasing the fees at a few parks they have incrementally increased the fees at all the fee charging parks and all year round. Unfortunately, it looks like while these fee changes will generate more revenue, that revenue will likely be much smaller than the $11.6 billion in maintenance backlog. I am concerned to know the rate at which that backlog is increasing to know if these changes will ever even make a dent in it.
These changes certainly appear more equitable at first glance, instead of just a few popular parks like Grand Canyon and Yosemite raising prices a lot, every park goes up a little. But I am concerned that this isn’t in line with the economics of supply and demand. Since demand at the more popular parks is much higher the price should be higher there.
The reason people are resistant to this is that they want everyone to have to the chance to visit the parks. I am very sympathetic to this issue, I want everyone to be able to visit the parks as well, but in reality the more popular parks are overrun with people during the summer months which can end up leading to a poor experience for everyone involved and even more increased maintenance costs.
In the end I think something closer to the original plan would have proved more useful across the National Parks as it probably would have encouraged a bigger spread of people visiting the most popular parks and raised attendance at the less popular parks. I would like to see more people visiting, not less, but I also want the NPS to be sustainable long term.
Sum Up
The National Park fee changes are here. They should not cause traumatic inconvenience to most people, in fact most visitors will probably not even register the change unless it is pointed out to them.
Visiting a National Park is still a great deal, these changes do not come even close to lining up with supply and demand or inflation, and most of the park sites, including some of the most visited, are still free.
The best and cheapest way to see the parks is with an America the Beautiful pass which has not increased in price.
Infographic Text Transcript:
What: Entrance fees at NPS sites are increasing by about 5 dollars.
Types of entrance fees: Vehicle, Person, Motorcycle, Single Park Pass
When:
May 1st, 2018 – 4 Parks
June 1st, 2018 – 52 Parks
January 1st, 2019 – 44 Parks
May 1st, 2019 – 1 Park
January 1st, 2020 – 32 Parks
Note: some parks will prices in two stages, and 7 parks have not yet announced when they will changes prices.
Why: Maintenance backlog of 11.6 billion dollars
Types of maintenance: trails, buildings, restorations, habitat care
Where: The 117 fee charging parks
Map showing a few fee charging park locations
Graph showing number of fee charging parks (117) vs free parks (300)
Types of parks: National park, monument, seashore, military, recreation, historic
Who: Table showing fee change averages across different types of parks. For more information see the NPS website: https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/entrance-fee-prices.htm
America the Beautiful Passes remain the same:
Annual pass: 80 dollars a year
Every kid in a park: free for fourth graders
Senior pass: 80 dollars for life
Military pass: free for military families
References and Credits Budget data: https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/upload/FY-2018-NPS-Greenbook.pdf
Visitor stats: https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/
Fee usage: https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/fees-at-work.htm Entrance fee increases: https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/entrance-fee-prices.htm#CP_JUMP_5865631
Map Graphic by Sergey Demushkin on the Noun Project
