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Fire Island National Seashore Institutes Online Backcountry Reservation System

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You can add Fire Island National Seashore in New York to the growing list of National Park System units with an online reservation system for backcountry camping. While the seashore won't charge you per night in the backcountry, there is a $20 reservation fee.

Fire Island's reservation system is for permits to camp in the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness. A limited number of wilderness/backcountry camping permits are issued for overnight stays in the Fire Island wilderness, so reservations will provide potential campers with the assurance that space will be available when they arrive.

Group size is limited, and the maximum length of stay is three consecutive nights. Campers must be prepared to hike from one to five miles down the beach to reach the designated wilderness camping zones, and must carry in (and carry out) everything needed for this primitive camping experience.

Since the breach at Old Inlet has cut off access to the wilderness camping areas, campers staying in both the eastern camping zone and the western camping zone must now check in at Watch Hill Visitor Center, a half-hour ferry ride from Patchogue. The Watch Hill VC reopens on May 25. (Permits are not currently issued at the Wilderness Visitor Center.)

"Permits were previously issued on a first-come, first-served basis," said John Mahoney, concessions specialist and special park uses coordinator for the Seashore, "but more people have been using this resource in recent years. The new reservation system will help us better serve our visitors and better protect park resources, too."

Camping is also available at the Watch Hill Campground, operated for the Seashore by Fire Island Concessions, LLC, for campers who prefer to be closer to the restrooms, snack bar and other amenities. Reservations for this campground, accessible by passenger ferry from Patchogue or by private boat, may be made online. There is a $25 nightly fee for each campsite at the Watch Hill Campground, with a two-night minimum for Friday and Saturday night stays.

For more information about programs or camping in the Fire Island Wilderness, contact the Division of Interpretation at 631-687-4780 (weekdays) or 631-281-3010 (weekends).

Comments

EC, you're claiming a false victory. You pay the fee to reserve a permit to camp in the backcountry, as the language Sara cited clearly states: "A $20 permit fee is assessed for each permit. This includes a $6 service fee which is required for each permit reserved."

How isn't it a reservation fee?

And if you try to duck that fee and simply wander into the wilderness area, what happens if you get caught without a permit? Odds are you get booted out and possible cited. The park sets limits on how many people can overnight in the backcountry and work to keep track by requiring folks to check in.


Odds are you get booted out and possible cited.

Doesn't that prove its not a "Reservation" fee. Its a camping fee. Right or wrong - call it what it is.


Sounds like a camping fee disguised as a reservation fee. Is anyone else here feeling like the NPS would prefer to decrease visitation to the backcountry of all NPS areas?


Is anyone else here feeling like the NPS would prefer to decrease visitation to the backcountry of all NPS areas?

Not ready to reach that conclusion yet. What do you think their motive would be?


Is anyone else here feeling like the NPS would prefer to decrease visitation to the backcountry of all NPS areas?

Nope. Over the last three years, I've traveled the backcountry of nearly thirty national parks, and I've had the exact opposite exerience with NPS.


Kurt's right, the $6 is a reservation fee.

From the NRRS Operating Procedures Manual, Appendix 1 page 8:

"Reservation Fee. An Agency-approved fee charged to the customer at the time a reservation is made, to cover the cost of reservation services. This fee is in addition to the Recreation Use Fee"

In Chapter 2(pg19) the manual states,

"Reservation fees are charged at some agency facilities and are non-refundable."

and

"The National Park Service has a reservation fee of $1.50 for tour tickets at non-fee parks, i.e., the Washington Monument."

Lee said he wasn't charged a reservation fee at Arches for a campgound reservation. Arches has an entrance fee, Fire Island doesn't.

http://tinyurl.com/m8qkmvv


Backcountry traffic actually was up across the park system in 2012, with 1,816,904 visits versus 1,715,611 in 2011. Now, it was down quite a bit from the late 1970s, early 1980s, when the number spiked above 2.5 million for one year before plummeting down to about 1.6 million in 1987.

In all my years dealing with the Park Service, I've never had the sense they don't want backcountry travelers. And certainly, if that were the case, the outdoor industry would be up in arms over that. Rather, I'd bet that declines can be traced to the individual's desire to go backpacking.

For numbers on backcountry trends in general and specific parks overall, visit this site, go to annual abstracts, and select your year of choice.


Is it possible that some people are confusing "reservation fee" with either the words "reservation" or "camping fee?" Seems like a big argument about words rather than an actual situation.

If I go to a campground entrance and fill out the little envelope, stuff the money into it and shove it into the box, I'm paying a "camping fee."

If I call ReserveAmerica or Recreation.gov and send the money to them, am I paying a "reservation fee" or is it a "camping fee?" Then, when I print out the paper bill -- as I did when I reserved a site at City of Rocks last week, I may find a line item there that says "Reservation fee = $10.00" There was also a line that read "Camp fee = $12.72 (Idaho tax included) x 3 nights = $37.26" Aren't we talking about two separate things?

I have the reservation for my upcoming stay of four nights at Arches in front of me and it says:

Use fee: $80

Interagency pass: -$40

Charge Visa: $40

I'm not sure, but could that be the case in the current fuss over backcountry camping in the Smokies? I admit, I'm thoroughly confused over that one. But is this really just an argument over semantics?


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