You are here

Add Saguaro National Park To List Of Sites Proposing A Fee Increase

Share
Along the Cactus Forest Trail/Kurt Repanshek

The cost to visit Saguaro National Park could rise to $15 next year/Kurt Repanshek

Saguaro National Park is taking comments on a proposal to increase its entrance fee from $10 to $15 to help address maintenance projects in the park.

The last time that the Arizona park increased the seven-day vehicle entrance fee was in 2005. Since then, the park's deferred maintenance costs have increased to $16 million, the park said. Projects planned for 2017 include repairing Cactus Forest, Douglas Springs, and Heartbreak Ridge trails, as well as improving the auditorium of the Red Hills Visitor Center in the park’s west district. User fees also support projects to engage youth throughout the park.

“100 percent of the fees collected at Saguaro National Park remain in the park to support visitor facilities and services,” park Superintendent Darla Sidles said in a release. “This fee increase would enable the park to reduce the backlog in our deferred maintenance.”

From entrance to Death Valley National Park to camping at Great Smoky Mountains National Park to tours at Gettysburg National Military Park, sites across the country have proposed fee increases this year.

If approved, the increase will go into effect Jan. 1, 2017. It would help bring the park into alignment with the entry costs for other similar parks, a phased process that began in 2015. An annual pass will remain $35.

To comment

  • Deadline: Aug. 22, 2016
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Mail: Superintendent; Saguaro National Park; 3693 South Old Spanish Trail, Tucson, AZ 85730

Comments

The good ole "Deferred Maintenance Mantra".  I can see Jarvis sitting around the moustache club meetings, cigar in hand, saying,"Well, we can't cry about our budgets anymore because they have been steadily increasing, so let's push this.  If we say it enough, it will outshout anyone who takes a hard look at all this stuff."  To his credit, they have made up an arbitrary billions of dollars number and the public has bought it, hook line and sinker.    National FEEE Service


Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.