A trip to some of the U.S.’s top national parks doesn’t come cheap. Once you factor in travel costs, food, lodging, and gear, the dollar amount can easily reach into the hundreds.
So when the National Park Service on Tuesday proposed raising the entrance fee per vehicle to $70—more than double the current rate—critics responded that the agency risks pricing even more people, particularly low-income families, out of what is supposed to be public land. In doing so, NPS may be running counter to its own diversity campaign that it ramped up last year during its centennial celebration.
This change would apply to 17 of the most visited sites, including Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, and Shenandoah. And it would go into effect during peak season, which, for many of the affected parks, falls between June and October. The proposal would also double the fee for motorcycles and triple the rate for those entering by foot or bike, depending on the park.
[For more on this story by, LINDA POON, go to https://www.citylab.com/equity/2017/10/what-raising-fees-means-for-the-national-park-services-diversity-outreach/543927/]
Photo: A hiker stands atop Barker Dam in Joshua Tree National Park, one of the parks affected by the proposed fee increase. Sam Mircovich/Reuters
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