National Parks Traveler

Entrance fees to many national parks have increased far greater than the CPI would guide/NPS file

Your National Park Vacation Has Gotten More Expensive

By Lori Sonken

You’re not mistaken. A national park vacation is more expensive than it was 20 years ago. Considerably more expensive in some costs once you get to the entrance gate.

Not all units within the National Park System collect admission fees, but for those that do the cost to visit the taxpayers’ treasures has outpaced inflation – as much as sixfold - over the past two decades. But entrance fees weren’t alone in their increases, as the cost of camping, climbing lighthouse stairs, and even paddling a boat is also more expensive (see table below).

Based on data provided by the National Park Service and using the Consumer Price Index at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to account for inflation, we reviewed park admission rates for individuals, vehicles, and annual passes from 2000 through today (see PDF attached below). Of the 126 park units surveyed, entrance fees increased above the rate of inflation (2.07 percent/year) at 83 parks.

The largest increase occurred at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in southern Utah and northern Arizona, where the vehicle entrance fee jumped 500 percent from $3 in 2000 to $30 today. During the same time period, the cost of an annual pass at Glen Canyon rose about 244 percent – from $10 to $55.

The cost to get into Glen Canyon National Recreation Area has rocketed up since 2000/NPS file

Records show a 400 percent uptick in entrance fees from $2 in 2000 to $15 in 2021 for individuals visiting Adams National Historical Park in Massachusetts, Colorado and Oregon Pipe Cactus national monuments in Colorado and Arizona, respectively, and Pinnacles National Park in California.

Slightly less, but still high, is the 316 percent price surge from $4 in 2020 to $25 today for automobile entrance fees at Lava Beds National Monument in California and the Wright Brothers National Memorial on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Fees increased 200 percent or more since 2000 at about 27 parks surveyed, including Golden Spike and Harpers Ferry national historic parks, Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and Saguaro National Park.

A survey of Traveler’s Facebook audience found a variety of opinions on the costs of a national park visit, from those who considered things getting too expensive to those who thought higher fees should be charged. Most thought entrance fees were reasonable, but a few took issue with the cost of lodging and quality of dining in the parks.

“The entrance fees are not the problem; they haven’t been raised in years. A totally different thing are the fees and costs charges by the concessionaires who deliver a very low level of service. The cost of lodging has tripled compared to the early 2000s, while the quality of service is even less basic than before,” wrote Frank Mußler, one of more than 100 people who voiced an opinion. “The fees should be far higher for groups and less for individual families. For foreigners who pay several thousand dollars to visit the national parks for just a few hours 10-20 $ per visit more wouldn’t affect the overall cost. Yet the extra income would benefit the parks and make them less dependent on Congress I say that as a German visitor btw.”

But Paul O’Donnell thought entrance fees should be done away with.

Roosevelt Arch at the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park/NPS

“Entrance fees are viewed as a way to provide funding, they shouldn't be. The parks could easily be funded adequately by Congress but haven't been because people haven't demanded it,” wrote O’Donnell. “Entrance fees keep people out of the parks. National parks are the collective heritage of ALL citizens not just those with $25 to drop at a moment’s notice. On the Roosevelt Arch (at the North Entrance to Yellowstone National Park) it doesn't say ‘for the benefit and enjoyment of the rich’ does it? Entrance fees are a symptom of the problem and should be removed.”

Juliann Hanna Murphy agreed.

“The parks should be publicly funded. I worked at the gate of a park one season and it broke my heart to have to turn someone away because they couldn't afford the entrance fee. That is just wrong,” she wrote.

Some took pride in purchasing a park pass.

“I bought an annual pass this year to support the NPS historic site where I walk daily. While they said I could come in for free if I just wanted to use the restroom, I feel proud to show my annual pass card when I enter,” wrote Wendy Bumgardner. “I have always donated in the past at the donation barrel, but as the visitors center was closed much of last year, I couldn't. I know those fees help keep the site clean and maintained and a safe place to walk and enjoy.”

Not all parks increased their fees since 2000; we found 43 parks once charged fees, including  John Muir National Historic Site in California, Fort Laramie National Historic Site in Wyoming, and Harry S Truman National Historic Site in Missouri, but no longer do because of the costs of doing so.

“Park Service officials told us they used to charge entrance fees but stopped in 2011 due to the costs of collecting these fees.  After the park stopped charging entrance fees, visitation increased by 30 percent,” at the John Muir National Historic Site, the Government Accountability Office noted in its 2015 report, Revenues from Fees and Donations Increased, but some Enhancements are Needed to Continue this Trend.

Some units, such as Point Reyes National Seashore in California and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina are prohibited by statute from charging fees. Similarly, children under 16 are admitted to all parks at no cost.

Better-known national parks, such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, Zion, Grand Canyon, and Grand Teton, increased individual entrance fees and the cost of annual passes about 25 percent and 13 percent, respectively, from 2000 to today.

Park visits fluctuate by year and were down last year due to the pandemic. Recreation fee revenues are a relatively small part of NPS’s approximately $4 billion annual budget.  In 2020, the NPS received about $249 million in recreation fee revenues, said Kathy Kupper, NPS public affairs specialist.

National park units keep at least 80 percent of the revenues collected at their sites, and the remaining 20 percent benefits parks without fees. Funds may be used for facility maintenance, repair, and enhancement; interpretation and visitor services; law enforcement; and certain habitat restoration efforts. Revenues also support the reservation- and permit-obtaining- platform, Recreation.gov.

Staff at Fort Laramie National Historic Site determined it wasn't cost effective to collect entrance fees/Jim Stratton

“National park entrance and recreation fees are an important source of funding to not only address maintenance needs, but also to help support education services, provide law enforcement and improve visitor experiences. However, we should not increase fees to such a degree as to make these places – protected for all Americans to experience – unaffordable for some families to visit,“ said Emily Douce, director of operations and park funding for the National Parks Conservation Association, in an email.

Efforts to increase park fees have been attempted many times over the years. At times some members of Congress argued for free entrance, reflecting the view that the American public pays for its parks through their taxes. Others have supported fees as a way to supplant Congressional appropriations.

“This is how politics makes interesting bedfellows,” said Rick Healy, who worked on parks issues as a senior Democratic staff member for more than 25 years in the House of Representatives, including 18 years as Democratic staff director of the House National Parks Subcommittee.

When the Reagan Administration proposed to increase fees at Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, then-Congressman Richard Cheney (R-Wyo.) was concerned about a loss in tourism revenues. As Republican whip, Cheney played a key role in rounding up Republican votes to support the reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, including modifications to the recreation fee program that at the time funded land acquisitions, said Healy.

At Cheney’s request “we included language in the bill capping the vehicle fee at $10 or $5 for a person not in a vehicle for Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks and an entrance fee paid at one of these two parks was also good for admittance to the other one,” said Healy in an email.

That shared pass, however, disappeared on June 1, 2015, when the Park Service set a $30 entrance fee for Yellowstone and a $30 entrance fee for Grand Teton.

It usually costs $10 for adults to walk up the Cape Lookout Lighthouse, but it's closed this year due to structural issues/NPS file

Today, there is an established process, including the requirement to notice the proposed rate in the Federal Register, for parks without fees to establish them. But parks with current fees can charge “whatever they can get away with,” said Healy.

NPCA supports having the NPS or an outside entity study the “barriers to visiting parks for people of all income levels,” said Douce. In addition, prior to a rate increase NPCA believes continued extensive outreach to the public should occur.

“More targeted public meetings and active outreach in communities beyond current electronic public comments would help to reach a more diverse set of opinions and thoughts about the impacts of entrance fees.” she said.

In 2017, the Trump administration proposed to raise the entrance fees two-to-threefold at the country’s most popular parks as a way to raise funds to address the repair backlog. Stymied by public opposition, the Interior Department opted instead to phase in modest increases – about $5 per admittance at the parks charging entrance fees.

Also of concern to consumers is the cost of spending a night in a park lodge or dining in a restaurant. A study of 2019 lodging rates compared to those charged in 1999 by David and Kay Scott, Traveler’s lodging experts, found, on average, that they reflected an annual compounded increase of 4.23 percent compared with an annual increase of 2.17 percent in the Consumer Price Index. Based on our sample of 34 lodges, national park lodging room rates have been increasing at approximately twice as much as the Consumer Price Index, they noted.

The largest percentage price increase the Scotts found -- more than 250 percent -- was a tent cabin in Yosemite National Park’s Half Dome Village that rose from $40 in 1999 to $141 in 2019. This represents an annual compound growth rate of 6.5 percent, or three times the annual increase in consumer prices. The smallest price increase was at Kettle Falls Hotel in Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota, where over two decades room prices increased only 3.8 percent, from $65 in 1999 to $90 in 2019. This represents an annual compound price increase of 1.64 percent. Rooms at the hotel do not have a private bath.

Issues with lodging and dining costs were cited by some of Traveler’s Facebook followers.

“Entrance and most amenity fees are good. But lodging and food is out of reach and keeps going higher,” wrote Cyn Collyard. “Concessionaires keep raising prices but not repairing or replacing - falls to NPS. Lodging is pricing out normal families. Glacier McDonald at over $400 a night!!!!!”

Some park travelers say lodging is too expensive for families/NPS

Rebecca Colip wrote that “entrance fees are not a problem. I do think the hotel fees have risen in recent years to the point where it is difficult for a family to afford to stay in the park.”

“Absolutely agree,” replied Pat Bohannan. “The average hotel room rate in Yellowstone these days is around $350 per night. That’s insane.”

“Food could definitely be of better quality at the cafeterias,” added Kay Robinett.

Robert Winfree was of the opinion that “(R)esource management costs should be covered by appropriations, as for other federal lands. Convenience services costs should be high enough to cover basic operations and maintenance, as for private resorts. Peak season pricing should be higher than shoulder and off-season. Costs for extraordinary rescues should be charged to visitors, who should be advised to carry trip/medivac insurance. Annual and lifetime (age/access) passes are a great idea.”

But there are a handful of days each year when you can get a break on park entrance fees.

This year, the NPS is waiving entrance fees on six days; they are April 17, the first day of National Park Week; Veterans Day, November 11; National Public Lands Day, September 25; the one-year anniversary of the passage of the Great American Outdoors Act, August 4; and Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, January 18. No longer is August 25, recognized as National Park Service Founder's Day, included in this group.

Additionally, fourth graders are eligible for a pass that entitles them and their families to visit parks for free for one year. For the remainder of the current school year, fifth graders and their families can enjoy parks at no cost as well, since many missed out on using their pass last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.