Entrance Fees

Opposition Mounting to Higher Entrance Fee At Olympic National Park

A trend seems to be developing in the West against higher entrance fees in the national parks. Already Yosemite and Crater Lake national parks and Lava Beds National Monument have had fee increases spiked, and now the folks around Olympic National Park are complaining about a proposed increase there.

Proposed Fee Increase for Crater Lake National Park Tabled

Local opposition to a proposed doubling in entrance fees at Crater Lake National Park apparently has worked.

Tour Operators Get A Break From Higher Park Entrance Fees

Who says special interest groups don't have clout? While national park entrance fees for families and individuals have been inching ever upwards, the National Tour Association has negotiated a deal with the National Park Service to freeze entrance fees for tour groups through 2009.

The Fight Against Fees Losses a Champion

The fight against charging fees to access our public lands lost a true champion this weekend. Robert Funkhouser, the president of the Western Slope No Fee Coalition, died unexpectedly of a massive heart attack on August 10 at his home. He was 50.

Yosemite Fee Hike Spiked

Under pressure from the gateway towns surrounding Yosemite, Director Bomar agreed to spike the proposed increase in the park's entrance fee, from $20 to $25.

The Value of the National Parks Pass

It's now been more than five months since the National Parks Pass was summarily booted from the National Park Service, replaced by another, more expensive, piece of plastic dubbed America the Beautiful.

Some Thoughts on Park Visitation Trends

Debate over what drives, or doesn't drive, national park visitation has been going on for years. In recent years, though, it's grown particularly alarmist, as if the parks were becoming passe, no longer the darlings of America's vacationers, in danger of withering on the vine because they weren't been overwhelmed by tourists every day of the year.