The views are breathtaking along Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, but visitors may someday pay more for the privilege of seeing them.
The National Park Service recently updated its fee-increase plans at about 130 of 390 parks and monuments around the U.S. In 2009, Rocky Mountain National Park will be able to raise its annual pass from $35 to $50 and also raise per-vehicle and per-person entrance fees. Higher fees also are allowed in 2008 or 2009 at Colorado National Monument, Florissant Fossil Beds, Mesa Verde, the Great Sand Dunes and Hovenweep National Monument.
It’s up to managers at individual parks to decide whether to raise fees, although Washington must sign off on increases.
The new fee system, which includes four levels, is the latest wrinkle in a program started during the Clinton administration that allowed the parks greater freedom in setting fees and turned 80 percent of revenue back to individual parks for spending on improvements. Some $1.4 billion has been raised since 1997. In 2006, the service raised $84 million in fees and received $1.7 billion from Congress.
The latest plans brought warnings from critics who fear higher fees will discourage some Americans from visiting their parks and contribute to further decline in visits.
The number of park visitors has declined since the late 1990s, although officials note that post-Sept. 11 travel fears, higher gas prices and changing recreational tastes also play a role. But some individual parks that have seen sharp fee increases have seen the number of visitors drop noticeably.
Park fees are nothing new – the first were imposed in 1908 – and the current program has funneled needed money directly into the parks, not back to Washington. But the park service needs to take care that higher fees don’t seriously affect access or use, and Congress must not use fee revenue as an excuse to shrink general park support.
Our national parks offer incomparable scenic and natural values for what’s still a bargain, especially when compared to the cost of other mountain recreation.
Going to the Royal Gorge? That will set back a family of four $84 in entrance fees. How about a guided rafting trip down the Arkansas River? You might pay $77 for an adult and $67 for a child.
The kids want to ride the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad? Plan to fork over $50 each.
By comparison, Rocky Mountain National Park’s current seven-day tariff of $20 per carload looks good. You’ll probably have money left over for putt-putt, taffy and a rubber tomahawk in Estes Park.
