The venerable Paradise Inn at Mount Rainier National Park is one of the more affordable lodges in the National Park System/Rebecca Latson file

A great majority of the readers who responded to last week's article about the ever-growing price of lodging in the National Park System agree that lodging costs are prohibitive to a stay in the parks.

"Lodging costs are wildly prohibitive," Robert H. Hunter wrote on the Traveler's Facebook page, adding that "the skyrocketed costs of a mule ride, a horseback ride, hiking access permits in many places, and the prohibitive reservation system for many areas, make these impossible for regular working people and put many of our most incredible natural places out of the reach of regular folk."

That was the general sentiment shared by those who read David and Kay Scott's article, "Is National Park Lodging Becoming Unaffordable For Average Americans?"

In the piece, the Scotts noted that "[W]hile national park entrance fees remain one of America’s great travel bargains, it has become increasingly expensive to spend a night in the majority of national park lodges. Consider paying $290 to $350 nightly (plus taxes and fees) for a night in Thunderbird Lodge on the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, $400 for a Singer Cottage with one queen bed in Olympic National Park’s Lake Crescent Lodge, or $765 for a Deluxe Lakeside room in Glacier National Park’s Many Glacier Hotel. Perhaps even more staggering, a canvas tent with a single light bulb but no heat or electrical outlet is priced at $180 plus tax for summer 2025 in Yosemite’s Curry Village."

David Scott, a finance professor at Valdosta State University for 32 years before retiring and co-author with his wife of the Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges, added that "[R]oom rates for the overall sample increased approximately 170 percent during the past two-and-a-half decades, while consumer prices and the cost of hotel and motel rooms increased by 91 percent and 87 percent, respectively. Based on the sample, the last 25 years have seen national park room rates increase at approximately double the rate of both consumer prices and public lodging at hotels and motels."

Part of the sticker shock can be traced to a 2017 decision by the National Park Service to allow lodging concessionaires to charge whatever the market will bear for a large percentage of their rooms.

"Becoming?" Eric Robinson wrote in respone to the article's headline. "I’d say it has been for years. It’s simple supply and demand. Not much supply, a whole lot of demand."

David B. Haynes agreed. "BECOMING?!?!? That ship sailed 30 years ago!! Yes, it’s WAY too expensive and has been. Ken Burns said as much in his great documentary of the NPS. The park system needed the patronage of the wealthy and began EARLY on to create lodging to cater to the well to do and one of the best perks of overpriced lodging is the lack of middle class folk bringing down 'the vibe' of the joint. Let them sleep in tents." 

Linda Ward, one of more than 100 readers who left comments on the Facebook page, said her family always spends vacations in national parks and that the increasing cost of lodging hasn't escaped her.

"It seems more people discovered the parks during Covid. Now they are much more expensive & much more crowded," she wrote. "We just booked ONE NIGHT at Jackson Lake Lodge for next September & the total cost is $711!!! We stayed there for two nights in 2022 & I believe it was around $500 a night at that time."

Read about the cost of a night at the Old Faithful Inn.

A Traveler reader identified only as A Parks Traveler wrote in a comment to the article that, "[O]ne of the parks that seems to strike the right balance is Mt. Rainier. I stayed at the Paradise Inn (a historic lodge in the heart of the park) and paid approximately $200 per night, plus tax*. That place has to deal with many of the challenges mentioned in this article, including a limited season, remote location, and punishing weather (in the case of Rainier, that consists of snowfall that sometimes buries most of the building)."

"The nightly cost is lower than many other park lodges because most of the rooms are small with limited amenities (think shared bathrooms and no TV, internet, or phones)," the writer continued. "But the common area is gorgeous, with two fireplaces, wood carvings, hanging lamps, and plenty of nooks to enjoy a book or listen to a nature talk. And the main attraction--the trails in Paradise--is just outside. That setup basically is what I want to see in the lodges across the park system: moderate costs and limited amenities, where the focus is on re-creating the older traditions of a national park visit and enjoying the park itself, and not on having luxury experiences at luxury prices. Here's hoping more parks can provide options like that."

Restoration of the Paradise Inn was completed in 2019.

High pricing also shows up in gateway communities.

"Last week $400 per night at the Best Western in Tusayan. INSANE!!!!!!!!" wrote Jeremy Matthew Childs on the Facebook page. "Everything in Grand Canyon was sold out."

Sandy Swiney Coward said the National Park Service needs to recognize the issue.

"Looked at Many Glacier Inn at [Glacier National Park] in Montana. Over $700 for ONE night," she wrote on Facebook. "If the NPS doesn’t think this is far out of reach for the average American they are completely out of touch."

When this issue was raised a year ago, a spokesperson in the Park Service's headquarters office said the agency believes "the parks should be available to all," and pointed to the remote location and severe weather concessionaires must cope with in parks such as Yellowstone. Plus, she said, "[M]any of the properties are historic, some of which are National Historic Landmarks. These buildings can be very complex and expensive to maintain to the standards expected by the National Park Service. Most operate seasonally and are shut and winterized for half the year, limiting the time window in which the concessioner can earn revenues sufficient to maintain the facilities."

Park goers who look to the lodges for rooms aren't the only ones concerned with the costs of visiting. Rick Bates suggested less expensive rates for RV sites in the parks.

"National parks, while we love them, have gotten prohibitively expense for the RV crowds (not everyone enjoys sleeping in a tent after a certain age)," he wrote.  "This limits the older visitors because it’s also a challenge for those on a fixed income (even with the old guy pass, you have to sleep somewhere). Younger folks with kids saturate the parks all summer, but the older crowd can’t afford even off-season. More RV sites WITHIN the park (using the old guy discounts) at reasonable rates, would be a huge step forward."

On the Traveler's Instagram account, the_ranger_pete commented that, "[P]rices have gone up drastically, some is inflation, some is the hotels are recovering from Covid, or remodeling, but there still are not enough rooms to meet everyone, so it's a demand that is too great. In Yellowstone, rooms are booked a year ahead... try the off-season to save (some). Now, as for Jackson Hole...they have gone off the chart$$$."

Also on the IG feed, davisleighanna wrote that it's "[A] travesty that the average person cannot afford to stay in the lodges and nicer accommodations."

Back on Facebook, Kate Bickley wrote that, "This is wrong. I have stayed in The Ahwahnee Penthouse, and it was affordable long ago. It should be middle class attainable. They are our parks. All of the lodges should be open to our middle class. Pretty soon the campground won’t be affordable. Don’t laugh."

* A check of May 2025 room rates at the Paradise Inn at Mount Rainier National Park showed a range of $177.65 (military and first responders) for a room with a double bed and shared bathroom to $417.75 a two-bedroom suite (one double bed, two twin bed).