Beginning May 1 it will cost a bit more to enter Shenandoah National Park/Kurt Repanshek
It's going to cost you a little more to enjoy Shenandoah National Park in Virginia beginning May 1.
On that day, the entrance fee for motorists entering the park will go from $15 for a week-long stay to $20. If you arrive on foot or on a bicycle, it will cost $10 for seven days, a $2 increase over current fees. Motorcyclists will have to pay $15 for a week's stay, a $5 increase.
Barring any changes, on January 1, 2017, the fees will inch up again, to $25 per vehicle, and $20 per motorcyle, while foot and bicycle visitors will see the same $10 fee.
The increases, Shenandoah officials noted in a press release, are part of a nationwide initiative by the National Park Service to both raise and bring some consistency to entrance fees across the National Park System.
To solicit public input, Shenandoah National Park launched a civic engagement campaign in December 2014 that included a series of public meetings aimed at discussing the increase needed to bring the park's fees into compliance with other similar parks in the nation.
During the public comment period, the park received more than 240 formal comments through e-mails, letters and on-line comments, as well as, more than 100 comments on the park's Facebook page. While the majority of comments supported an increase, many people felt that the original proposal was too much of an increase to make all at once. To respond to public comments, the park modified the proposal to phase implementation of entrance fee increases beginning in 2015, and followed by a second and final increase on January 1, 2017.
'The fee program is critical to the park,' said Shenandoah Superintendent Jim Northup. 'Eighty percent of fees collected stay right here in the park and are put to work improving facilities and services important to visitors. Without this funding, park staff would have to forego these projects. The additional revenue from this increase will allow us to sustain this world-class park.'
Park officials note that entrance fees support a wide range of projects that improve park conditions and visitor experience including, rehabilitating trails and trailhead signs, developing and installing exhibits in visitor centers, improving park water systems, rehabilitating wastewater treatment plants, providing ranger programs, improving ADA accessibility at Rapidan Camp and park comfort stations, and maintaining open vistas at park overlooks.
Additional revenue raised by a fee increase may be used to rehabilitate/rebuild Front Royal Entrance Station for increased staff safety and improved access, restore wetlands in Big Meadows campground by removing a loop in and establishing replacement sites in a less sensitive area, as well as, restore backcountry stone structures, retaining walls, bridge structures, and huts.
In addition to the higher entrance fees, beginning this spring, a $10 per-person fee will be collected from visitors participating in special ranger-led van tours to Rapidan Camp, President Hoover's former retreat and a National Historic Landmark located within Shenandoahk. Children 12 and under will not be charged for this tour.
Park officials have also decided to move the group campsite currently at Loft Mountain to an underutilized area at Dundo Picnic Grounds, reducing conflicts within the main campground. Two 20-person group sites will be established at Dundo. The cost per site will be $45.
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Comments
I wonder how many people actually stay for a week. The reality is that many are paying that for a day or two. I'm not an anti-fee guy but I do object to the mischaracterization of these fees. $20 ($25 in two years) for a week is a bargain. $20 for a day, not so much. I wish that had passes for shorter durations at lower prices and maybe higher prices for the full week.
If the majority of comments supported a fee, I would do a personal audit of those comments. The NPS has a way of spinning negative comments to make them positive if they are pushing an unpopular agenda.
I think the fee should go up to an even $100 per day. This will cut down on all of the congestion and wear and tear on the roads. Less people and cars and less impact on the park infrastructure.