A new pricing system for enjoying Great Smoky Mountains National Park next year treats those who explore the park by foot or horseback equally.
Under the plan that kicks in March 1, whether you're a thru-hiker on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail carrying a 30-pound backpack or exploring the park's backcountry astride a 1,000-pound horse the fee is the same, according to park staff.
"Fees for backcountry equestrian use are charged the per person fee, same as backcountry hikers," said Great Smoky spokesperson Emily Davis.
Under the new fee structure, both hikers and horseback riders are charged $8 a day for backcountry travel. Additionally, thru-hikers on the A.T. will be charged a flat $40 for a permit good for up to eight days.
The thru-hiker fee was said to be necessary to help cover backcountry maintenance costs.
"The park's backcountry fees have not increased since the program's start a decade ago in 2013," explained Davis. "At that time, park managers gave the best estimate for new program costs to staff the Backcountry Office seven days a week; offer 24-hour online permit service; staff backcountry field ranger positions; and perform backcountry campsite maintenance (trash removal, food-storage cable repair, etc.).
"After a decade of operations, we now have much better estimates for those costs. We factored in operational costs and performed mandatory price comparability with other similar programs to arrive at the proposed, and now approved, rate changes," she added in an email. "Increasing per-person fees from $4 a night to $8 a night (with the maximum fee per person per permit increasing from $20 to $40 for up to 7 nights) allows us to appropriately continue and increase these services over the next several years. We plan to provide more backcountry patrol, maintenance, and additional trip-planning tools to our services."
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