The National Park Service is proposing hefty increases for camping in Zion National Park/NPS file
Camping fees at Zion National Park in Utah could go up as much 75 percent under a proposed fee schedule now open for public comment.
The National Park Service wants to increase nightly fees at the Watchman and South campgrounds from $20 to $35 for a standard, non-electric site, a 75 percent increase. In the Watchman Campground, which handles RVs, a standard site with electricity would go from $30 to $45, a 50 percent boost.
Other fee increases are proposed for day-use activities, such as canyoneering trips to the Left Fork – Subway, and the Virgin River Narrows trip from the top-down ($6 per application, and $10 per person per day), and for backcountry camping permits (from $5 per reservation/application to $20, and then $7 per person per night).
The park also wants to move its Wilderness Recreation Permit system to recreation.gov. The release detailing the increases did not indicate what additional fees recreation.gov might charge for backcountry permits.
The last time campground fees in Zion changed was in 2015, and Wilderness Recreation Permit fees have not changed since 2016. In that year, the park recorded about 3.6 million visits. In 2021, Zion recorded more than 5 million visits — the most in its history.
“Fee dollars do great things for visitors at Zion," said park Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh. “These funds help us maintain essential facilities like restrooms and drinking water systems, rehabilitate campsites, and ensure rangers are available to patrol trails, canyoneering routes, and other Wilderness areas.”
You can find the fee proposal, and leave your comments, at this site.
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Comments
We stayed at watchman campground in the winters of 2020/21 & 2021/22. About half of the RV campsites & almost all of the tent campsites were empty. Raising fees when the park is busy may raise revenue, but raising fees in the off-season will decrease both visitors and revenue. Perhaps you need a busy season rate & an off-season rate? Another idea is to charge non-US citizens a higher rate since we (citizens) already pay taxes to support the parks? It also doesn't make sense to raise fees when visitor numbers are in decline (supply & demand). Higher fees just restrict access for those needing the parks most. National parks should serve all Americans, not just those with fat enough wallets to pay exorbitant fees.