Is a campsite reservation system needed at Voyageurs National Park? That's the question park officials are asking, and in light of the fact that you need a boat to reach the park's campsites, it might be a good one.
After all, would you want to build a paddling itinerary around specific campsites, only to find them occupied when you paddled up?
Park officials note that this is the final year of a three-year civic engagement discussion to determine if Voyageurs should move to a reservation system.
"Discussions will include charging for campsite use by night to ensure future maintenance and upkeep of the sites," they note in a release. "Interior campsites and boats on the Kabetogama Peninsula will also be finalized based on comments received over the last few years. Day-use sites will not be included in these discussions."
Voyageurs Superintendent Mike Ward says his staff believes they have arrived at "the best formula to maintain the sites while passing on a low cost to the user. Now it is time to discuss it with park neighbors and users and get their opinion of whether we should implement it or not."
Park officials began discussions when the new 49-passenger tour boat required a new fee structure to operate. The public agreed with the boat tour fees and implementation has occurred for the third year without complaint.
Concerns for the potential day-use of interior boats on the Kabetogama Peninsula caused the park to work with the reservation company to ensure day and overnight use could be reserved for these boats at the same fee currently being charged. The public did not support the idea of an entrance fee, boat, or snowmobile sticker so that option has been dropped.
In discussions with communities surrounding the park, there have been many who feel the park should charge for sites and offer reservations in order to bring new users to the area. Many new users will not consider camping in Voyageurs without a reservation system, especially since it is a 100 percent boat-in park, park officials note. All sites are currently first-come, first-served and will remain so if not reserved by midnight the night before for that individual day.
Park officials will be visiting communities and multiple organizations and agencies over the next 30 days to discuss the proposed actions. There will also be a series of public meetings at park headquarters on the following dates and times.
Monday, September 10, 2012:5:30-6:30 p.m.
Thursday, September 13, 2012:5:30-6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012:5:30-6:30 p.m.
Thursday, September 20, 2012:5:30-6:30 p.m.
The public is invited to come to the meetings. Park headquarters is located at 360 Highway 11, International Falls, MN, 56649. Park officials have created a phone number (218-283-6708) for the public to call and be able to express their concerns or support for the reservations and costs for campsites.
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Comments
We would not like a reservation system for camping. As already posted, the good sites would always be booked way in advanced and no body would ever get to stay at those sites if you went last minute. This has happened at the state park level and all the preferred sites are taken a year in advanced. We have been going up there for years and have never had an issue getting a site. We don't always get the exact one we want but there are a lot of good sites to choose from.
There is always a tendency to take a system wich works well and try to make it better. In this case the current setup at VNP is what makes it special. As a frequent user the charm of the park is it's simplicity. launch the boat and the adventure begins, finding a campsite is part of the experience. We have found new campsites when when the old favorites have been full and they often become the new favorite. This is one government operation that is not over regulated, please don't succumb to the temptation to make it so.
I wholeheartedly agree with the comments above and especially John Benshoof's. The adventure begins with seeing which campsite you will find open. In early June, we were thrilled to find Hoist Bay open. That rarely occurs. Don't change anything!
Did anyone make it to any of the meetings?Interested to hear what was said by park officials and or guests of the park.c63
My comment is more about Rainy Lake than the rest of the park because I have never camped south of the BIG Lake. This summer I made 4 trips and found sites with no problem, twice we came up on a Friday, the other 2 times were on Sundays. All 4 trips we commented on all the vacant camp sites on a weekend. July and August were the months we were there, supposedly the busy time for the park. I like the spur of the moment trips because of high wind on the lake. I just don’t see how changing it to permits will be better for the majority of the users on Rainy. I hope they take into consideration the opinion of the people that use the park. We have been going up VNP (Rainy) for 10 years we have always found a site. You just need to understand that arriving on Sunday or before Thursday is a GUARANTEE for a camp site. I also think we pay for this park with our taxes why get charged twice
I think that there is a need to build more campsites to solve overcrowding . Charging a campsite use fee is fair to everyone. Reasonable day use or seasonal use fees could be issued at the Park Offices for campsite users. I am not in favor of any fee for park entrance or water exclusive use.
I have been a frequent visitor and camper in the area since before the Park existed. My family and I visit and camp 3-5 times per year, and hope to increase that frequency.
Finding a campsite is part of the experience. There have certainly been times when a site we had hoped to get has already been chosen first by another party. In all of my years camping in the Park, there has only been one time when I could not find a designated campsite and needed to camp at a non-designated site, and then only for one night.
This just does not seem like a big problem. I have never heard anyone say that they do not come to the Park because they are worried about not finding a campsite. On the contrary, we are often able to come with very short planning because no reservation is necessary.
What would happen if people made reservations, and then did not show up? I know of people who make reservations at Yosemite the first day that they can, holding the reservation until they know for sure that they will not use it. Unfortunately, that prevents others from making plans.
Please do NOT do this. The first-come-first-served process has worked very well since before the Park existed, and it works well today. Adding a reservation system will create a new barrier to the Park's use, and my understanding is that is NOT what you are trying to do.
Thank you for providing the opportunity to comment.
I know this is an old thread but I have to coomplain. I never wanted to se this reservtion system. I used to use VNP regularly every summer. In fact, it is/was my favorite place on Earth. Since the reservation system was implemented, I have not gone. It is too difficult to try to plan so far ahead. I believe thse who can afford it, reserve and may or may not use the camp sites. I never had trouble when it was first come, first served. When a site was full, I just paddle to another, simple really. You also used to be able to camp anywhere in the park, no more. I tried for a short while in the beginning to do the reservation thing. I could never get what I wanted anyway. It seems it is more difficult to get a site now that when it was first come first served.... seems counter-intuitive.
This system also does not account for weather which can dictate travel in small craft. I liked VNP rather than the BWCA because it was first come first served. Now it has become nothing to me, thanks for nothing.