National park defends 65% price hike for visitors

Certain Grand Canyon activities will increase by more than 65%.

Apr 3, 2025 - 01:32

National park defends 65% price hike for visitors

While some of the country's 63 national parks charge an entrance fee and others are free to enter, activities such as camping or boating almost always come at an extra cost.

Wyoming's Yellowstone charges between $20 and $90 depending on the exact campsite location while spending the night at California’s Yosemite will set one back between $26 and $54 per tent.

A park particularly popular for spotting wildlife, Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee distinguishes between frontcountry campsites that can cost up to $30 per night and backcountry ones deeper in the park at which one can stay for just $4 per person.

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'Recreation fees provide essential funding': NPS

Starting on May 1, campsite slots at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona will go up by more than 65% — parking a tent or RV at the Desert View, North Rim, and Mather campgrounds will go up from $18 to $30 per night.

"Recreation fees provide essential funding for maintaining and improving facilities and visitor services," the National Park Service (NPS) wrote in justifying the increase. "Projects supported by these fees include campground repairs and improvements, increasing accessibility, and facility restoration."

The increase follows a period of public consultation during which parkgoers and those with an interest in the region could weigh in on the proposed increase online last November and December.

While this gives the public a chance to speak out and feel like they are making their voice heard, fee increases are almost never scrapped based on what is said — similar increases were recently instituted despite it at both California's Joshua Tree and Utah's Zion.

In Grand Canyon, the price of staying at group and walk-up sites will remain the same at $55 while those who purchase the annual access or senior pass will still get a 50% discount on any campground bookings.

Grand Canyon is one of the country's most iconic and frequently-visited national parks.
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'Will help ensure the park continues to enhance visitor services'

Grand Canyon NPS workers claim that campground fees have not been raised since 2005 and are justified due to inflation and the rising cost of keeping the park maintained amid growing visitor numbers. Significantly less popular and developed for tourism than its south counterpart, the Grand Canyon's North Rim has also been seeing visitor numbers increase significantly faster than the park's ability to accommodate them.

The NPS also said that the Grand Canyon recorded 159,019 overnight tent and 84,332 overnight RV stays in 2023 — a number that has been rising year after year and thereby straining park resources.

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"This fee increase will help ensure the park continues to enhance visitor services," the NPS said further.

Southern California's Joshua Tree is another national park that will be raising its reservation fees for the 2025 season, doubling them to $20 for all except children under 11 years old.

Zion Park Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh similarly positioned it as "improv[ing] accessibility and visitor service."

"These changes are going to help us maintain essential facilities like restrooms and drinking-water systems, rehabilitate campsites, and simplify applications for Wilderness Recreation Permits," Bradybaugh said when the changes were announced in the fall of 2024.