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Old 10-25-2017, 07:47 AM   #1
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National park fees may be going up.

Yet another reason to get a senior pass it you are able to get one.
Not all are but 17 of the most visited ones may charge more for entrance fees.

National Park Service considers fee hike of up to 180% for most popular parks, including Yosemite - LA Times

https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/10-24-...s-proposal.htm
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Old 10-25-2017, 08:13 AM   #2
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Old 10-25-2017, 09:26 AM   #3
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Doesn't look to be changing anything for seniors. If the money stays in the parks and is used as they state, it's a good cause. We all know politicians though.
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Old 10-25-2017, 11:04 AM   #4
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When I was a young single mom, there was a similar increase (I think it was $10 to $25) and that meant we quit going to the National park because it was too expensive for a day trip. I hate to see this happen.
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Old 10-25-2017, 11:15 AM   #5
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Yet another reason to get a senior pass it you are able to get one.
Not all are but 17 of the most visited ones may charge more for entrance fees.

National Park Service considers fee hike of up to 180% for most popular parks, including Yosemite - LA Times

https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/10-24-...s-proposal.htm
I believe the current administration is cutting funding to the National parks so you will be paying more to make up for the loss of funding . Pat
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Old 10-25-2017, 11:18 AM   #6
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Park fees

There are management options that could keep this from happening but they are politically unpopular. The money wasted by the US government on special interests every day could be better spent on parks and national forests. They would all be free to all of us.
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Old 10-25-2017, 12:05 PM   #7
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I would suspect that the camping fees in National Parks will soon follow and rates will increase . It seems no one wants to pay taxes for anything that does not directly benefit them so we end up with ever increasing user fees. I suspect that over the next several years things will only get more regressive.
The days of spending tax dollars for the common good are rapidly coming to an end.
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Old 10-25-2017, 12:56 PM   #8
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The National Parks are starting to be over run by too many people, too many vehicles, too many dogs, bicycles, campers, tenters and too much garbage to dispose of. The parks needed to be given a rest, but that will never fly. Stay on the established trails folks. Erosion is never good. If it costs me more, so be it. These are national treasures. I'm willing to do my part, so my 2 year old granddaughter will be able to enjoy them too. YMMV
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Old 10-25-2017, 01:05 PM   #9
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The National Parks are starting to be over run by too many people, too many vehicles, too many dogs, bicycles, campers, tenters and too much garbage to dispose of. The parks needed to be given a rest, but that will never fly. Stay on the established trails folks. Erosion is never good. If it costs me more, so be it. These are national treasures. I'm willing to do my part, so my 2 year old granddaughter will be able to enjoy them too. YMMV
Enjoy while you can. I forsee a future day when access to national parks will be via a lottery system.
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Old 10-25-2017, 01:38 PM   #10
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Enjoy while you can. I forsee a future day when access to national parks will be via a lottery system.
I expect you are correct and it may not be all that far off. At least for camping. When I was in the Tetons this summer, you had to be in line before noon to get a site in a non-reservable camp if you had any hopes of getting a site large enough for a travel trailer. The rangers assigned sites based on space needs only. Although we did get asked if we wanted the generator or quiet loops. Glad my trailer is fully-self-contained. The bathrooms (and water) were on the other side of the loop. Oh my. I'd do it again in a heart beat.
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Old 10-25-2017, 02:02 PM   #11
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As a retired National Park Service ranger, I am appalled by this latest management announcement. Higher fees mean less access for the less fortunate among us. Parks are crowded yes, but these higher fees are coming with a 10% cut to the NPS appropriation funding, already underfunded given the use for instance, Glacier had over million visits last July and August with no increase in staff resources. Be prepared
to pay a lot more in the coming years.
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Old 10-25-2017, 02:53 PM   #12
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A lot of the national parks are way too crowded to be enjoyed by anyone already.. not to mention the environmental impact.. .. Take Yosemite for example, the campgrounds were like refuge camps during major long weekends, the whole valley is so hazy you can't even see anything... the bears don't even bother waiting until night time to raid the campsites... oh and the traffic! ugh. Access to half dome is already on a lottery system...

I'm not sure at this point any of the popular parks are accessible to anyone whenever they wanted to visit anyway, since most campgrounds are filled 6 months ahead..
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Old 10-25-2017, 03:10 PM   #13
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It's sad but true. National Parks in many places take months or even a year of preplanning just to get a site. We could get into the causes of that, but those conversations inevitably become political and heated.

The good news is, the other public lands such as Corp of Engineers, BLM, etc remain accessible and uncrowded.
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Old 10-25-2017, 03:23 PM   #14
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It's sad but true. National Parks in many places take months or even a year of preplanning just to get a site. We could get into the causes of that, but those conversations inevitably become political and heated.

The good news is, the other public lands such as Corp of Engineers, BLM, etc remain accessible and uncrowded.
Well, that depends - try getting a permit for a hike to The Wave...
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Old 10-25-2017, 05:11 PM   #15
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True enough Jon. A lottery to hike? I don't think so.
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Old 10-25-2017, 05:58 PM   #16
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True enough Jon. A lottery to hike? I don't think so.
There are lotteries now for some popular trails.
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Old 10-25-2017, 07:23 PM   #17
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How high are the fees right now? Are they that high?

I remember back in the winter of 2009-2010, because I was registered with Oregon State Parks, they contacted me along with others wondering what I thought of their raising the camping fee from about $26 up to $29 to cover increased costs (not sure of exact cost). My response, I have no problem with that at all, because the 4 parks I stayed at in 2009 were all very nice with clean good facilities, well worth the cost in my mind. Of course, our dollar was nearer par.

It always amazes me that some of the more commercial type campgrounds, like KOA, are always more expensive than National/Provincial/State parks and offer much less, and often not even in a good setting.
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Old 10-25-2017, 10:55 PM   #18
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I think right now the most expensive NP entrance fees are like $25-30? there are still a good number of great parks that doesn't charge entrance fee.. and funny thing is those usually have fewer people visiting too. the annual pass cost $80.
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Old 10-26-2017, 09:52 AM   #19
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It always amazes me that some of the more commercial type campgrounds, like KOA, are always more expensive than National/Provincial/State parks and offer much less, and often not even in a good setting.
Lol, it is apparent you haven’t gone trailering with toddlers. KOA’s and other commercial campgrounds are a godsend when out for an extended trip with the lil ones. I myself look forward to an occasional ice cream social, pool and hot tub, etc. when out on a month trip not to mention full hookups.
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Old 10-26-2017, 10:03 AM   #20
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Lol, it is apparent you haven’t gone trailering with toddlers. KOA’s and other commercial campgrounds are a godsend when out for an extended trip with the lil ones. I myself look forward to an occasional ice cream social, pool and hot tub, etc. when out on a month trip not to mention full hookups.
Oh heavens, you could not be further from the truth, our kids grew up camping all the time and still do as young adults. Almost 27 years ago, when my son was under one, and my daughter near two, we bought our first trailer, a tent trailer, and went all the time. Since then we have never been without a travel trailer. They did come with us on many of our canoe and backpacking trips too. While they did like playgrounds, they found it just as much fun to explore in the woods, ride their bikes around, and play with the other kids where we camped.

To each their own though, there is no wrong way to go trailer camping. While having some amenities is fine, we have lots in the past and will lots in the future be using campgrounds that offer them, but to me the best camping is usually to get away from those things. The ultimate is heading to the backcountry where not even cell phones work, that is true relaxation.
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