Indiana Dunes National Park is now charging an entrance fee/NPS file
It now costs most of you to enter Indiana Dunes National Park.
The park located on the southern tip of Lake Michigan on Friday began requiring visitors to either show their annual park pass or pay an entrance fee. The fees are to be spent on a number of parking information improvements, deferred maintenance projects, and visitor services for a park that has seen its attendance increase from 1.7 million visitors to more than 3 million since its name change in February of 2019. This new fee only affects the national park and does not change the fee collected by the state for entrance into the Indiana Dunes State Park.
Depending on the method used to enter the national park, the fees vary. The per person/walk-in/bike-in/boat-in rate: $15 (up to a maximum of $25 per family), Motorcycle Pass: $20, One to Seven-Day Vehicle Pass: $25, Indiana Dunes National Park Annual Pass: $45 and Commercial Fee for a Motor Coach (Bus): up to $100.
This new fee is covered for holders of the following federal land passes: Annual Pass, Senior Pass, Veterans, Military and Gold Star Family Pass, 4th Grade Pass, Access Pass (for permanent disability), and the Volunteer Pass.
The Indiana Dunes National Park Annual Pass and other federal passes are available now at www.recreation.gov and at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center. Starting March 31, passes are also available at the Paul H Douglas Center and beginning April 8th at the West Beach Entrance Station. Some local retailers near the park will sell some park passes. The first retailer is The Trail Stop, located in the pavilion at Portage Lakefront and Riverwalk. Information will be available on the park website as other vendors are added.
Comments
Sadly, the NPS has so inured people to this double taxation, its like Republicans and insurrection. No one cares anymore.
"Double taxation" LOL
I would like to know how they intend to enforce these fees to the residents who live on private property within the park boundaries. These residents use the beaches at all hours of the days and nights with impunity. If the NPS does not enforce the fees to the residents, they set a double standard and open themselves for lawsuits based upon arbitary or favored enforcement.
If the park service were properly funded fees would not be necessary
NPS is "properly funded".
Unfortunately, NPS makes poor choices on its spending, and acquriing more properties better left to local and state funding & control.
You probably don't remember Pres. Trump signed $3 BILLION in parks funding in 2020 (Great American Outdoors Act). The MOST money spent on parks funding in decades.
While Biden has proposed a 15% increase, he has so alienated conservationists, conservatives, and most other Americans, that it's unlikely to pass.
But I doubt such facts matter.
Fees would not be needed? No matter how much funding the NPS receives, it will always institute and increase user fees.
For example, Arches NP recently increased fees for SELF-GUIDED hiking permits in the Fiery Furnance.
You say "I doubt such facts matter", like you've presented more than one...yes the Great American Outdoors act was signed by Mango Mussolini in 2020. But lets not make up $ numbers (it is actually 6.5 billion set aside for NPS units) or try and paint it as some grand gesture from our Dear Leader. It was originally democratic legislation that gainEd overwhelming bipartisan support and co-sponsors to save endangered red state R's that passed with a veto-proof majority.
Facts?????
Where?
See Patriot's post below.