Fee areas of the National Park System comprise a minority of the areas of the United States National Park System administered by the National Park Service. [1] [2] A majority of sites are fee-free areas.
The list below includes all areas that charge an entrance or standard amenity fee; generally not included are sites that only charge expanded amenity fees such as those for camping, boat launching, and parking. Sites where nearly all visitors purchase these additional amenities, such as areas with caves that require fee-based guided tours for cave access, are also generally not included. Many areas listed have parts where fees do not apply. Each year, there are a handful of free entrance days when entrance fees are waived at these areas. [3]
Fees are given on a per-vehicle or per-person basis. Per-vehicle fees admit all occupants of a private passenger vehicle, generally for 7-days (unless otherwise noted). Most per-vehicle sites also offer passes for individuals arriving on foot, bicycle, or motorcycle; these are not listed. Fees do not apply to children age 15 or younger unless otherwise noted. All sites accept America the Beautiful Passes to waive entrance fees, which have been described as one of the best deals in recreation. [4] [5] [6] [7] Most fee areas also offer an annual area-specific pass for those who visit the same area often.
Bold indicates national parks.
On October 24, 2017, Secretary of the Interior Zinke proposed large fee hikes at seventeen of the most visited national parks in order to address a backlog of maintenance at all national parks. [8] The NPS considered that these changes, which would increase entrance fees from $25 to $75, were appropriate because they only targeted the most popular parks, which already have entrance fees. [8] However, there was a nearly unanimous public backlash against this proposal; many families felt this would prohibit them from being able to visit the parks. [9]
Further, there was concern that this hike would disproportionately affect low-income families, who are already underrepresented in visitation to national parks. [10] Additionally, many organizations working to increase access to nature for families of color, such as Latino Outdoors and African American Nature and Parks Experience, spoke out against these proposed fee hikes. [10]
Altogether, more than 110,000 comments were posted on the NPS website, with 98% of them protesting this change. [11] Representative Raul Grijalva commented, “This is a prime example that activism works.” [11] In response to this strong public reaction, on April 12, 2018, Secretary Zinke released a statement replacing this plan with a more moderate proposal to raise prices incrementally across all parks with entrance fees. [12]
Acadia National Park is an American national park located along the mid-section of the Maine coast, southwest of Bar Harbor. The park preserves about half of Mount Desert Island, part of the Isle au Haut, the tip of the Schoodic Peninsula, and portions of 16 smaller outlying islands. It protects the natural beauty of the rocky headlands, including the highest mountains along the Atlantic coast. Acadia boasts a glaciated coastal and island landscape, an abundance of habitats, a high level of biodiversity, clean air and water, and a rich cultural heritage.
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government, within the U.S. Department of the Interior. The Service manages all national parks; most national monuments; and other natural, historical, and recreational properties, with various title designations. The U.S. Congress created the agency on August 25, 1916, through the National Park Service Organic Act. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C., within the main headquarters of the Department of the Interior.
Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is an American national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park and contiguous preserve encompass 6,045,153 acres which is larger than the state of New Hampshire. On December 2, 1980, 2,146,580-acre Denali Wilderness was established within the park. Denali's landscape is a mix of forest at the lowest elevations, including deciduous taiga, with tundra at middle elevations, and glaciers, snow, and bare rock at the highest elevations. The longest glacier is the Kahiltna Glacier. Wintertime activities include dog sledding, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling. The park received 594,660 recreational visitors in 2018.
Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains.
Muir Woods National Monument is a United States National Monument managed by the National Park Service and named after naturalist John Muir. It is located on Mount Tamalpais near the Pacific coast in southwestern Marin County, California. The Monument is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and is 12 miles (19 km) north of San Francisco. It protects 554 acres (224 ha), of which 240 acres (97 ha) are old growth coast redwood forests, one of a few such stands remaining in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Capitol Reef National Park is an American national park in south-central Utah. The park is approximately 60 miles (97 km) long on its north–south axis and just 6 miles (9.7 km) wide on average. The park was established in 1971 to preserve 241,904 acres of desert landscape and is open all year, with May through September being the highest visitation months.
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is an American national park that conserves an area of large sand dunes up to 750 feet (230 m) tall on the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley, and an adjacent national preserve in the Sangre de Cristo Range, in south-central Colorado, United States. The park was originally designated Great Sand Dunes National Monument on March 17, 1932, by President Herbert Hoover. The original boundaries protected an area of 35,528 acres. A boundary change and redesignation as a national park and preserve was authorized on November 22, 2000, and then established on September 24, 2004. The park encompasses 107,342 acres while the preserve protects an additional 41,686 acres for a total of 149,028 acres. The recreational visitor total was 527,546 in 2019.
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park is located in the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland. The park was established in 1961 as a National Monument by President Dwight D. Eisenhower to preserve the neglected remains of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and many of its original structures.
Big Cypress National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in South Florida, about 45 miles west of Miami on the Atlantic coastal plain. The 720,000-acre (2,900 km2) Big Cypress, along with Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas, became the first national preserves in the United States National Park System when they were established on October 11, 1974. In 2008, Florida film producer Elam Stoltzfus featured the preserve in a PBS documentary.
Boiling Springs State Park is a park built 6 miles (9.7 km) northeast of Woodward, Oklahoma, USA. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.
Greenleaf State Park is located near Braggs, Oklahoma, and is situated around the 930-acre (3.8 km2) Greenleaf Lake. Greenleaf Lake was built in 1939. There is an 18-mile (29 km) hiking trail that begins inside the park and makes its way around Greenleaf lake and into the adjacent government land of Camp Gruber.
Natural Falls State Park is a 120 acres (0.49 km2) state-owned park in the Ozarks, in Delaware County, Oklahoma. It lies along U.S. Highway 412, near the Arkansas-Oklahoma state line. The property was privately-owned and known as Dripping Springs until 1990, when the state bought it. The previous owners had also used the property as an attraction and rest stop for travelers on the highway, featuring a swimming pool and gardens. The site was used in the production of the 1974 film "Where the Red Fern Grows".
Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees native to the Mojave Desert. Originally declared a national monument in 1936, Joshua Tree was redesignated as a national park in 1994 when the U.S. Congress passed the California Desert Protection Act. Encompassing a total of 795,156 acres – slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island – the park includes 429,690 acres of designated wilderness. Straddling San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, the park includes parts of two deserts, each an ecosystem whose characteristics are determined primarily by elevation: the higher Mojave Desert and the lower Colorado Desert. The Little San Bernardino Mountains traverse the southwest edge of the park.
Fort Cobb State Park is a 1,872-acre (7.58 km2) Oklahoma state park located in Caddo County, Oklahoma, USA. It is located near the city of Fort Cobb. The park offers recreational activities and facilities including camping, fishing, boating, water sports, swimming, hiking and golf. A visitors' center is located on site, as well as a gift shop, bait and tackle shop, RV sites with water and electric hook-ups, primitive camping areas, scenic views of the lake, comfort stations, laundry facilities, picnic sites, three playgrounds, two swimming areas and marina. Equipment rentals are available. The park also has an 18-hole golf course with practice range, putting green and pro shop. The park has 282 RV sites, 35 of which have sewer, and 102 tent campsites.
Foss State Park is a 1,749-acre (708 ha) Oklahoma state park located on Foss Lake, in southwestern Custer County, Oklahoma, near the city of Foss.
Great Plains State Park is a 487-acre (1.97 km2) Oklahoma state park located in Kiowa County, Oklahoma. The part of the park that is developed for campers and hikers is about 487 acres. However, the entire park encompasses more than 1,200 acres from one end to the other. It is located near the city of Mountain Park, Oklahoma. Located south of Hobart off Hwy 183, Great Plains State Park is nestled between the Wichita Mountains and the Tom Steed Reservoir. The area offers water sports, boating, boat ramps, camping, RV parking, swimming beach, playground, picnic areas, cycling, mountain biking and hiking trails. The campground spans approximately 460 acres (1.9 km2) of park land with 56 RV hookups and 30 tent sites. RV sites consist of 14 modern water, sewer, and electric sites and 42 semi-modern sites with water and electric. Located on the shores of Tom Steed Reservoir, a large lake with 31 miles (50 km) of shoreline.
Osage Hills State Park is a 1,100-acre (4.5 km2) Oklahoma state park It is located in eastern Osage County, Oklahoma. The nearest cities are Pawhuska and Bartlesville. The park offers outdoor recreation opportunities including camping, hiking, fishing and wildlife watching. Park facilities include picnic tables and shelters, 20 semi-modern RV campsites, 16 tent sites and 8 cabins. Several of the park's structures are historic parkitecture built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s and 1940s.
Sequoyah State Park, one of Oklahoma State Park's 32 parks, is a 2,200 acre peninsular recreation space on the eastern shore of Fort Gibson Lake in Cherokee County, Oklahoma. It is 8 miles (13 km) east of Wagoner, Oklahoma and 18 miles (29 km) west of Tahlequah, Oklahoma on State Highway 51. A shortleaf pine-lined drive leads you to the many amenities of the park including camping loops, Paradise Cove Marina, a golf course, Three Forks Nature Center, Sequoyah Riding Stables, and the state's largest state park lodge. There are 12 miles of hiking trails free and open to the public including the Fossil Trail, Bluebird Trail, and Scissortail Paved Trail.
The America the Beautiful Pass series comprises annual or lifetime passes that grant the holder entrance to more than 2,000 federally protected areas including national parks, national monuments, and other protected areas managed by six federal agencies: the National Park Service, the Forest Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Army Corps of Engineers. At per-vehicle fee areas, the pass entitles the holder and all passengers in a non-commercial vehicle to admission. At per-person fee areas, the pass entitles the holder and up to three additional adults to admission. The pass was created by the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act and authorized by Congress in December 2004, which is Division J, Title VIII of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, Public Law 108–447, 118 Stat. 2809, an omnibus appropriations act. Passes are available at all National Park Service sites that charge entrance fees as well as online through the United States Geological Survey online store. The passes have been described as one of the best deals in recreation.