The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is raising entrance fees at the start of the new year to pay for maintenance and improvement projects.
Starting Jan. 1, private vehicles will run $20, up from $15. Individuals on foot, bicycle or in non-commercial vehicles will pay $10, up from $7. Motorcycles will be charged $15, up from $10.
The annual Great Sand Dunes Pass will cost $40, up from $30.
The park started soliciting public input on the proposed fee change in August. The entrance fees were last increased in 2015. The park says this increase follows a tiered fee system used by the National Park Service across the country.
The added revenue from raising entrance fees will go toward improving and maintaining restrooms and the Piñon Flats Campground, according to the park. It’ll also be used to develop and install new exhibits in the visitor center and to improve road and trail signs.
The Sand Dunes was not one of the 16 parks included in , although Rocky Mountain National Park is. There, the National Park Service is proposing more than doubling the peak-season gate fee to $70, up from $25 or $30. The proposal has worried business leaders in Estes Park.
