It's going to cost you a bit more to enjoy this view of the Cathedral Group at Grand Teton, unless you have an America the Beautiful national parks pass/NPS.
It's going to cost a bit more to get into Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks this summer. Indeed, if you visit both parks and don't have a national parks pass, it will cost more than double to visit them than it does today.
Last summer, National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis issued a directive to all parks that they were to start moving their entrance fee schedules towards one national model with four tiers. For Yellowstone and Grand Teton, both in the top tier, that gave the parks' superintendents an opportunity to generate more funds for their parks.
At Yellowstone, Superintendent Dan Wenk decided to split the long-running practice of allowing visitors to enter both Yellowstone and Grand Teton under one $25 fee that allowed entry for seven days. Beginning June 1, a seven-day pass to Yellowstone will cost $30, as will a seven-day pass to enter Grand Teton.
'We use our entrance fees to complete critical projects that benefit park visitors and our natural resources,' said Superintendent Wenk. 'Eighty percent of the revenue we collect stays right here in Yellowstone and funds projects including road repairs, campground upgrades, rehabilitation of park structures, accessibility improvements for people with disabilities, radio and utility systems improvements, native fish restoration and aquatic invasive species mitigation.'
The park estimates that the higher entrance fees will generate $11 million of revenue per year, approximately $3 million more than the current fee schedule produces.
Yellowstone's New Entrance Fees
'¢ Vehicles: $30 per vehicle for 1-7 days. People visiting both parks can save $10 by purchasing a $50 two-park vehicle pass, also valid for 1-7 days. Or, they can spend $80 on a National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands pass and visit as many parks as they want as many times as they want in one calendar year.
'¢ Motorcycles: Motorcycles can enter Yellowstone for $25 for 1-7 days or both parks for $40.
'¢ Individuals: Per person fees will be $15 for Yellowstone or $20 for both parks.
'¢ Annual Passes: Yellowstone's annual pass will be $60. This pass offers visitors in the local area an option that is less expensive than the $80 Interagency Pass. The Interagency Pass rates will remain the same: Annual ($80) and Senior ($10). Military passes and Access passes (for people with permanent disabilities) will remain free.
Park managers proposed a new structure for entrance fees and reached out to stakeholders through a public comment period last November and December. The park solicited comments via mail and online, held meetings in Cody, Wyoming, Jackson, Wyoming, and Bozeman, Montana, and held conference calls with congressional delegation staff, county commissioners, concessioners, and commercial use authorization holders. The 2014 proposal included a 1-3-day pass, but it was dropped based on public comment.
At Grand Teton, officials expect the higher fees to generate an additional $1.2 million for use in the park. The added income will be used to fund trail improvements in the Jenny Lake area; restore and stabilize historic buildings for greater understanding and appreciation of the park's history and culture; expand youth outreach programs; and resurface park roads.
The proposed change underwent a 30-day public review and comment period at the end of 2014, and the new fee structure was approved after full consideration of impacts to visitors and local communities. Grand Teton received 59 official comments and park managers heard from nearly a dozen people during a public open house. While some people expressed concern for the fee increase, others expressed support of this change.
Grand Teton's New Entrance Fees
* Private vehicle: $30 for a 7-day pass to enter only Grand Teton National Park
* Foot or bicycle: $15 for a 7-day pass to enter only Grand Teton National Park
* $20 for a 7-day pass to enter both Grand Teton and Yellowstone by foot/bicycle
* Motorcyle: $25 for a 7-day pass to enter only Grand Teton National Park
* $40 for a 7-day pass to enter both Grand Teton & Yellowstone National Park by motorcycle
'When compared to other destinations and tourist attractions across the U.S., national parks provide outstanding opportunities to experience our American heritage and make lasting memories through an affordable family vacation,' said Grand Teton Superintendent David Vela. 'The relatively modest increase in entry fees is not expected to significantly alter park visitation, which reached an all-time high in 2014 with nearly 2.8 million recreational visits recorded.'
Comments
Yes. We already own the NPS. Problem is, they want to own more of taxpayers hard earned money. That is the great entitlement mentality if ever there were one. But I can't live off my wife who works for the NPS so I suppose we have to function in the private sector and actually work away from the taxpayer dime.
have no doubt we'll see stories later this week about how crowded the Parks are on holiday weekends. What mechanism other than fees ought to be used to regulate the use of these places?
the various passes are way underpriced for the value provided. $80 for an all year pass is one of the great bargains in all of travel. At the very least an all year pass should EXCLUDE the 3 summer holiday weekends (Memorial Day, July 4 and Labor Day) to allow for higher entry pricing on those most crowded days. The senior pass is a joke at $10 without severe date & time restrictions. No sane organizations would subsidize the heaviest users to the extent that pass does. charging more for someone arriving on a bicycle ( which I have done in multiple parks) than someone coming in a 30' RV is a strange argument for "fairness".
True the parks are paid for by taxpayers but the virtual unlimited use should not be. Gateway towns (i.e. W Yellowstone Estes Park Williams AZ) know enough to raise the prices of rooms in holiday weekends, the Parks should consider using the same data to regulate useage during these highly desired times
The NPS pads numbers to make it look like visitation is increasing. Here is proof. http://www.smokymountainnews.com/outdoors/item/17708-a-strained-relation...
John, you have serious reading comprehension problems. Soufern' Forest Whine can use whatever unscientific measures they want, but that doesn't mean it's "proof" of anything, other than the delusions in your own mind. The park has been very crowded over the last few years. IF YOU and your guy from kentucky that doesn't live anywhere close to the park, saw it on a day-to-day basis, you would have a clue. But you don't.
Methinks the unabagger from Idaho doth protest too much. Love it when the NPS folks get defensive. It means that watchdog groups are rattling the right cages. Padding numbers should be suspect throughout the system if proven in the GRSM, as it has been. Did you see the comments from the former deputy Super? Wow, talk about taking it personally. Fitzgerald has a serious case of the moustache twitching. Sympathy twiching with Jarvis, no doubt. Ha, Ha, Ha....
You're more like a blind puppy fringe group, and far from a watchdog organization with any sort of credibility. Whatever, dumbo. Methinks you have no credibility, and all your conspiracy theories you come up with (that are always shot down in courts) are just a ruse so you can con people to fund your organization so you and myers can sue the government, as well as providing a little pocket money for paying for your "expeditions" in which you constantly fail to reach any summit. It's just a money making con game to you and you are just looking for any angle to try and justify keeping the con going. Anytime some backwoods journalist puts your name in the paper, you become like beetlejuice and pop out looking to stir crap up. So of course, I get it.... you need a new angle.
Usually those raised by conartists, become conartists themselves.
Regardless, what does any of this have to do with Yellowstone and Grand Teton?