The National Park Service likes to promote that visitors give the National Park System a 96 percent approval rating. That's pretty lofty, but is it accurate?
Remember the "good ole days" when you could buy a National Park Pass for $50, one that would get you into as many national parks as many times as you wanted during one calendar year? Remember the days when a backcountry permit was free? Remember when you didn't have to pay to park in a park?
Traveler reader Gary Wheeler remembers those days.
"I'm a huge national park fan and often get a yearly pass (that $80 will be hard to recoup this year)," he told us. "I also want to say I soured a great deal on the pass after recent trips. I found I had to pay at Devil's Postpile (National Monument) to take a shuttle into the park. I had to pay parking at Rushmore. ... Rushmore was particularly frustrating: 'We have free admission, but you have to pay to park.' If that's the case, then why did I buy a parks pass?
"I am finding way too many places where my pass does me no good and I am hit with hidden fees," says Mr. Wheeler.
To that end, he has a reasonable suggestion: The National Park Service on its website should provide a clear and easily understandable table "of all parks and monuments along with admission fees, parking fees, additional fees, etc. That would be so informative and so easy to implement."
Now, don't misunderstand. The national parks remain an incredible resource in this country. But from time to time everyone can learn from others and find better ways to operate, ways to improve business. With that understood, what suggestions do you, the true national park travelers, have for the National Park Service?
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Denali (and any other parks with a traffic issue or shuttle system already in place) should use the type of busses that Zion has - quiet, clean, great windows for viewing, comfortable seats. The old school busses in Denali are horrible - the noise factor alone is egregious for travelling in a park where peace and quiet are part of the experience!
My wife and I bought a Senior Pass in May and set out on an 11,000 mile journey to visit the national parks in the west and southwest. The Senior Pass is one of the greatest bargains out there and made it possible for us to visit about 20 parks during our six week trip and stay on budget.
We were extremely impressed with the dedication of the Park Service and the Rangers. They were courteous, patient and most helpful at every turn. On more than a few occasions, however, it appeared that some Rangers seemed to take "ownership" of the parks and monuments a bit personally. It was as if they owned the properties instead of the general public. I suppose that any dedicated public servant can slip into that mind-set on occasion.
The most poignant moment of our trip occured at the Grand Canyon. A young man in a wheel chair being pushed to the south rim of the Grand Canyon was heard to say, "I can't believe I'm really here." Well, brother, we couldn't believe we were there either!
The Park Service seems to have taken the airline approach to funding, "nickle and dime" users. Why not just raise entrance fees?? An annual park pass in Canada costs over $100 US and daily passes for just a few days exceed the cost of an annual pass. In addition, many countries charge nonresidents double or more the resident rate.
As a senior, I do appreciate the Golden Ages Passport, however, on an individual basis, seniors use the parks more days per year than other age groups. There should be some sort of fee for us as well.
The park service is severely under funded through the thoughtlessness of our elected officials. Write your congressmen and let them know that they are letting our national treasures go to waste.
Just seems like at every turn there are more and more restrictions, less and less access, more and more fees. Should be the other way around.
I visited the Smoky Mountains in June. I didn't have to pay to park or pay to get in. Free to get in is part of the parks history. I had a great time. The only thing that I didn't like was when I went the the gift shop (yes, the parks) to get some post cards to send back home. I picked out the ones that I liked. Then I turned them over to read the back, and there it was MADE IN CHINA?????????????? WHAT????? What a disgrace!!!!!
I feel these are America's parks, yet they are visited more by vistors from other countries. Perhaps because large familes and retirees can not afford all the fees. Maybe there should be a discount put in place for all Americans who wish to enjoy their parks.
Here are some suggestions:
A. Either get rid of all the hidden fees or lower the parks pass back to $50
B. Create a Senior Citizens and Student Pass for half price (or some relevant discount)
C. Create an extended parks pass, that lasts up to 5 years (at a cheaper per-year rate than is currently offered)
The strong and common restrictions against dogs are annoying. I understand that there are reasns for the restrictions (mostly irresponsible owners who let dogs off leash and don't dispose of waste), but it seems like the park service should make accommodations. Yellowstone, for example, is the size of a county and quite far from a town where a dog could be boarded. For large and remote parks like that, I would like to see the Park Service maintain local kennels, even for a small fee.