How much would you be OK with paying to visit national parks?/Canyonlands National Park vista, Rebecca Latson
How much is a national park visit worth to you? It's a question that floats to the surface from time to time when talk turns to the National Park Service's funding woes and nearly $12 billion maintenance backlog.
So, how much is too much? Instead of paying $25 or $30 per carload for a week in a park, would you be willing to pay, say, $25 or $35 per person in your car? Would you be OK with being charged a flat $100 per carload for seven days?
One-hundred-dollars per carload might seem expensive, but it also might still be a bargain, if you consider that in 1916 it cost $10 to enter Yellowstone National Park. If that $10 fee continued to rise annually with the rate of inflation, today the fee would be $244.
So, travelers, what maximum price would you place on visiting a national park? At what price point would you say, "Whoa, that's more than I can comfortably afford with my budget"?
Comments
I have to chuckle a little. I'm guessing that those that want to charge "those from other countries" more are the same ones calling Donald Trump a racist and demanding free healthcare and education for illegal immigrants. I have done a significant amount of internation travel and touring (all legal). I have never noted a differention in pricing based on country of origin.
After traveling all over the world, I see how common it is to chathe non-locals, and specifically non-citizens more to enjoy the parks paid for by citizens tax dollars. Living in the northwest, every summer our parks are full of tourists from all over the world. Let them pay the market price that we cannot subsidize, and continue to encourage low income scout groups to have camp sites. Currently, we need to book a year in advance just to ensure we can enjoy the wild places in our backyard because Europeans, Chinese and others are coming with money to rent RVs and take their American tour. If they can afford a few weeks driving across the US to see our special places, they can pay a bit more
I've read all the comments and agree with many and disagree with some. I've never visited Disneyland or Disney World nor taken my children there because we could never afford it. We don't go to major sporting events for the same reason. We drive because we can't afford to fly. We pack picnic lunches instead of eating in restaurants. We pay our taxes. We visit our National Parks. We live on Social Security alone, about $18,000 a year. We live within two hours of Yellowstone and Teaton Parks and couldn't visit without our parks pass. Get a grip, you rich people. Not everyone can afford your vacations and paying for seven days when I'm only visiting for one is excessive. I agree that those who don't pay taxes shouldn't benifit from the labor of those who do and their impact on the parks is massive. That said, I agree that the parks should have different fees depending on their popularity and I would be willing to pay, say $50 per car for Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon, but not for Harper's Ferry or Assateague. Thanks for asking.
I would pay nothing - I HAVE THE SENIOR PASS - YIPPEE
A family entereing any amazing park, pays much more.
Nothing I have a Senior pass that gets me a know any national Park for nothing
$10.00 per person with a maximum of $50.00 per vehicle. Motor homes and larger, $100.00.
I say increase the admission rates but still allow senior citizens and military receive a small discount.