It's going to cost you a bit more Oct 1 to see Nefertiti, and other formations, in Arches National Park and nearby Canyonlands National Park/Kurt Repanshek

It's going to cost you a bit more to visit Arches and Canyonlands national parks in Utah beginning in October, when higher entrance, campground, and interpretive fees kick in.

Park officials say the increases will help "fund important maintenance and improvement projects within the parks."

“These fee increases will allow us to continue protecting, preserving, and sharing Arches and Canyonlands National Parks with current and future visitors,” said Superintendent Kate Cannon. “After careful consideration of the impacts of a fee increase on visitors and the community, we have concluded that this is the right thing to do in order to improve park facilities and important visitor services.”

While it currently costs $10 to drive your vehicle into the park, no matter how many folks are in it, beginning October 1 that fee will more than double to $25 for a seven-day pass. If you're traveling by foot or bicycle, the current $5 fee will double to $10. Motorcycle passes will triple in price, to $15 from current rates.

To encourage visitors to enter the park during less crowded times, Arches National Park will periodically offer reduced entrance fees for private vehicles during off-peak hours. Advance notice of off-peak rates will be posted on the Arches website and at the Moab Information Center. When offered, off-peak rates will drop back to $10 for private vehicles, and $10 for motorcycles.

Also increasing are campground fees. At Devils Garden in Arches, the current $20 nightly fee will inch up to $25. In Canyonlands, the $10 Willow Flat fee will go from $10 to $15 and the Squaw Flat site will go from $15 to $20.

Group fees in both parks also will increase from $3 per person per night. At Devils Garden in Arches, the new nightly group fees will be $100 for 11-22 campers, $150 for 23-33, $200 for 34-44, and $250 for 45-55.

At Canyonlands, the Squaw Flat group site fees will be $90 per night for 11-20 campers; $135 for 21-30; $180 for 31-40; and $225 for 41-50.

It also will cost more to go on a ranger-led tour of Fiery Furnace in Arches. The current $10 per adult will increase to $16 per adult, while children fees will go from $5 to $8.

Park Service officials say a  wide variety of projects funded by fee revenues have improved the parks and visitor experiences over the years. Improvements have ranged from the upgrade of vault toilets and expansion of parking areas to improvement of backcountry campsites. Examples of how additional revenue from these fee increases will be used include creation of picnic facilities, rehabilitation of hiking trails, and repair of road shoulders.