Rehabilitation of a trail in Grand Canyon National Park by NPS and American Conservation Experience personnel was funded in part by entrance fees. NPS Photo 
 
 News Release Date: October 24, 2017 
 
 
 
 Contact: NPS Office of Communications, 202-208-6843 
 
 Public invited to provide comments on proposed peak season fee increases at 17 highly visited parks 
 
 WASHINGTON – As part of its commitment to improve the visitor experience and ensure America’s national parks are protected in perpetuity, the National Park Service (NPS) is considering increases to fees at highly visited national parks during peak visitor seasons. Proposed peak season entrance fees and revised fees for road-based commercial tours would generate badly needed revenue for improvements to the aging infrastructure of national parks. This includes roads, bridges, campgrounds, waterlines, bathrooms, and other visitor services. 
 
 “The infrastructure of our national parks is aging and in need of renovation and restoration,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. “Targeted fee increases at some of our most-visited parks will help ensure that they are protected and preserved in perpetuity and that visitors enjoy a world-class experience that mirrors the amazing destinations they are visiting. We need to have the vision to look at the future of our parks and take action in order to ensure that our grandkids' grandkids will have the same if not better experience than we have today. Shoring up our parks' aging infrastructure will do that.” 
 
 Under the proposal, peak-season entrance fees would be established at 17 national parks. The peak season for each park would be defined as its busiest contiguous five-month period of visitation. 
 
 The proposed new fee structure would be implemented at Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Denali, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Olympic, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion National Parks with peak season starting on May 1, 2018; in Acadia, Mount Rainier, Rocky Mountain, and Shenandoah National Parks with peak season starting on June 1, 2018; and in Joshua Tree National Park as soon as practicable in 2018. 
 
 A public comment period on the peak-season entrance fee proposal will be open from October 24, 2017 to November 23, 2017, on the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website https://parkplanning.nps.gov/proposedpeakseasonfeerates. Written comments can be sent to 1849 C Street, NW, Mail Stop: 2346 Washington, DC 20240. 
 
 If implemented, estimates suggest that the peak-season price structure could increase national park revenue by $70 million per year. That is a 34 percent increase over the $200 million collected in Fiscal Year 2016. Under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, 80% of an entrance fee remains in the park where it is collected. The other 20% is spent on projects in other national parks. 
 
 During the peak season at each park, the entrance fee would be $70 per private, non-commercial vehicle, $50 per motorcycle, and $30 per person on bike or foot. A park-specific annual pass for any of the 17 parks would be available for $75. 
 
 The cost of the annual America the Beautiful- The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass, which provides entrance to all federal lands, including parks for a one-year period, would remain $80. Entrance fees are not charged to visitors under 16 years of age or holders of Senior, Military, Access, Volunteer, or Every Kid in a Park (EKIP) passes. The majority of national parks will remain free to enter; only 118 of 417 park sites charge an entrance fee, and the current proposal only raises fees at 17 fee-charging parks 
 
 The National Park Service is also proposing entry and permit fee adjustments for commercial tour operators. The proposal would increase entry fees for commercial operators and standardize commercial use authorization (CUA) requirements for road-based commercial tours, including application and management fees. All CUA fees stay within the collecting park and would fund rehabilitation projects for buildings, facilities, parking lots, roads, and wayside exhibits that would enhance the visitor experience. The fees will also cover the administrative costs of receiving, reviewing, and processing CUA applications and required reports. 
 
 In addition, the proposal would include a peak-season commercial entry fee structure for the 17 national parks referenced above. All proposed fee adjustments for commercial operators would go into effect following an 18-month implementation window. 
 
 Information and a forum for public comments regarding commercial permit requirements and fees is available October 24, 2017 to November 23, 2017 on the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/commercialtourrequirements. Written comments can be sent to National Park Service, Recreation Fee Program, 1849 C Street, NW, Mail Stop: 2346 Washington, DC 20240. 
 
 
 
 www.nps.gov 
 
 About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 417 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice. ||||| Visitor fees to America’s most popular national parks, including Yosemite and Joshua Tree, could more than double to $70 during five peak months under a proposal unveiled Tuesday. 
 
 The plan was announced by the U.S. Department of Interior, which said the increase was needed to pay for “improvements to the aging infrastructure of national parks.” 
 
 Fees would rise during “peak season,” defined as the busiest five-month period of visitation at each park, the National Park Service said in a news release. 
 
 The plan would increase fees at each of the following national parks: 
 
 Acadia 
 
 Arches 
 
 Bryce Canyon 
 
 Canyonlands 
 
 Denali 
 
 Glacier 
 
 Grand Canyon 
 
 Grand Teton 
 
 Joshua Tree National Park 
 
 Mount Rainier 
 
 Olympic 
 
 Rocky Mountain 
 
 Sequoia & Kings Canyon 
 
 Shenandoah National Park 
 
 Yellowstone 
 
 Yosemite 
 
 Zion 
 
 Those parks currently charge $25 to $30 for a private noncommercial vehicle entry. 
 
 The new fees would be $70 for a private noncommercial vehicle pass, $50 for a motorcycle, and $30 for a pedestrian or cyclist. An annual pass at any of the 17 parks would be $75. 
 
 The $80 annual America the Beautiful pass that allows entrance to all federal recreation lands would not be affected. 
 
 “The infrastructure of our national parks is aging and in need of renovation and restoration,” U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said in the release. “Targeted fee increases at some of our most-visited parks will help ensure that they are protected and preserved in perpetuity and that visitors enjoy a world-class experience that mirrors the amazing destinations they are visiting.” 
 
 The increased fees would bring in $70 million in new national park revenue, a 34 percent increase over 2016, the release stated. 
 
 A 30-day period during which public comment is invited opened Tuesday. The link the National Park Service provided for people to comment appeared broken Tuesday evening. 
 
 Comments can also be sent in writing to 1849 C Street, NW, Mail Stop: 2346 Washington, DC 20240. ||||| (CNN) — The National Park Service proposes more than doubling the entrance fees at 17 popular national parks, including Grand Canyon, Yosemite, and Yellowstone, to help pay for infrastructure improvements. 
 
 Under the agency's proposal, the entrance fee for a private vehicle would jump to $70 during peak season, from its current rate of $25 to $30. 
 
 The cost for a motorcycle entering the park could increase to $50, from the current fee of $15 to $25. The cost for people entering the park on foot or on bike could go to $30, up from the current rate of $10 to $15. 
 
 The cost of the annual pass, which permits entrance into all federal lands and parks, would remain at $80. 
 
 The proposal would affect the following 17 national parks during the 2018 peak season: 
 
 Arches 
 
 Bryce Canyon 
 
 Canyonlands 
 
 Denali 
 
 Glacier 
 
 Grand Canyon 
 
 Grand Teton 
 
 Olympic 
 
 Sequoia & Kings Canyon 
 
 Yellowstone 
 
 Yosemite 
 
 Zion 
 
 Acadia 
 
 Mount Rainier 
 
 Rocky Mountain 
 
 Shenandoah 
 
 Joshua Tree 
 
 Peak pricing would affect each park's busiest five months for visitors. 
 
 The National Park Service said the increase would help pay for badly needed improvements, including to roads, bridges, campgrounds, waterlines, bathrooms and other visitor services at the parks. The fee hikes could also boost national park revenue by $70 million per year, it said. 
 
 "The infrastructure of our national parks is aging and in need of renovation and restoration," Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said in a statement. 
 
 Of the 417 national park sites, 118 charge an entrance fee. 
 
 The proposal was blasted by the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonpartisan advocacy group. 
 
 "We should not increase fees to such a degree as to make these places -- protected for all Americans to experience -- unaffordable for some families to visit," the group's president and CEO Theresa Pierno said in a statement. "The solution to our parks' repair needs cannot and should not be largely shouldered by its visitors." 
 
 l e v a r t 
 
 "The administration just proposed a major cut to the National Park Service budget even as parks struggle with billions of dollars in needed repairs," Pierno said. "If the administration wants to support national parks, it needs to walk the walk and work with Congress to address the maintenance backlog." 
 
 On the National Park Service's Facebook page, some commented that the proposal was reasonable since it was going to improve and maintain the parks. Others lamented that it would price working class people out of making trips that they had saved up for. 
 
 Entrance fees at several national parks, including Mount Rainer, Grand Teton and Yellowstone, went up in 2015 to their current price. 
 
 Those fee increases didn't seem to deter visitors. In 2016, National Park Services received a record-breaking 331 million visits, which marked a 7.7% increase over 2015. It was the park service's third consecutive all-time attendance record. 
 
 Most popular National Parks in 2016 (59 total) 
 
 Great Smoky Mountains National Park -- 11,312,786 million visitors 
 
 Grand Canyon National Park -- 5,969,811 
 
 Yosemite National Park -- 5,028,868 
 
 Rocky Mountain National Park -- 4,517,585 
 
 Zion National Park -- 4,295,127 
 
 Yellowstone National Park -- 4,257,177 
 
 Olympic National Park -- 3,390,221 
 
 Acadia National Park -- 3,303,393 
 
 Grand Teton National Park -- 3,270,076
– With the Trump administration planning to slash the National Park Service's budget, a new proposal could see entrance fees for 17 of the most-visited national parks in the country more than double during peak months. In an effort to boost revenue to pay "for improvements to the aging infrastructure of national parks," the Department of Interior has proposed increasing entrance fees from $25 to $30 for a private non-commercial vehicle to $70 during the busiest five-month period at parks including Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Glacier, Denali, and Mount Rainier, reports KTLA. Pedestrians would be charged $30, up from $10 to $15, increasing revenue by an estimated $70 million per year, according to a release. Under the proposal, which would be instituted beginning in 2018, an annual park pass would cost $75, while a pass permitting entry to all US national parks would remain at its current $80 fee. The park service is accepting public comments on the proposal until Nov. 23 but has already come under fire. Noting the Trump administration "just proposed a major cut to the National Park Service budget," the president of the National Parks Conservation Association says administration officials must "work with Congress to address the maintenance backlog." The costs of repairs to a park "cannot and should not be largely shouldered by its visitors," she adds in a statement, per CNN, expressing concern that the change would make parks "unaffordable."