Entrance fees are charged at most areas administered by the National Park Service. Fees generally range from a few dollars to $25, depending on the park. Some park areas, such as California's Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Minnesota's Voyageurs National Park, and the Blue Ridge Parkway that winds through North Carolina and Virginia do not charge an entrance fee. The large, popular parks such as Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Yosemite National Park are each at the high end of the range and charge a $25 entrance fee. Less heavily visited parks tend to charge lower fees.  For example, Mesa Verde National Park and Joshua Tree National Monument each charge $15, while Death Valley National Park and Big Bend National Park charge $20. Everglades National Park continues to charge an entrance fee of only $10. What a bargain! The fees mentioned are all charged per carload. Thus, a group of friends or family members can enter with a single entrance fee so long as they are in the same private vehicle.  Commercial vehicles are charged on a different rate schedule. 
    Parks that charge by the vehicle generally impose a separate fee for individuals who enter via foot, bicycle, or tour bus. For example, Grand Canyon National Park charges $25 per private vehicle or for someone entering on foot, on a motorcycle, or on a bicycle, $12 per person.  Some parks, generally those that must be entered on foot, levy a charge per visitor rather than a vehicle charge. For example, Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site charges $3 per person. Likewise, Cumberland Island National Seashore in Georgia charges $4 per person in addition to the cost of taking the ferry from coastal village of St. Marys.  Other National Park Service areas with a per-person charge include Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument ($3), Fort Larned National Historic Site ($3), Grand Portage National Monument ($3), Martin Van Buren National Historic Site ($5), Wupatki National Monument ($5),and Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site ($4).

Entrance fees at America's most popular national parks

Camping Fees

Most of the large national park areas offer developed camping facilities. For example, Yosemite National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Glacier National Park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park each offer numerous campgrounds. Other units such as Devil's Tower National Monument, Capitol Reef National Park, and Arches National Park each offer only a single developed campground, although primitive campgrounds, often without water, are sometimes available. Camping fees generally range from $10 to $20. Some campgrounds have a fee collection station near the campground entrance while other campgrounds have a self-registration system. Holders of an America the Beautiful Senior Pass or Access Pass pay half the regular camping fee. (see section below on national park passes)  Campers must pay any park entrance fee in addition to the camping fee. 

Link to additional information about camping in the national parks

Lodging Fees

     Most units operated by the National Park Service do not offer overnight accommodations. Even some of our major national parks including Rocky Mountain National Park, Acadia National Park, and Everglades National Park do not have lodging facilities.  Lodges are located in approximately 25 of the 391 areas managed by the National Park Service. Units with lodging include many of the big western parks including Yosemite National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Death Valley National Park, Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Olympic National Park, Sequoia National Park, and Kings Canyon National Park. Both the facilities and the prices span a wide range. Tent cabins and cabins without a private bath can often be rented for $65 to $75 while elegant hotels such as the Ahwahnee in Yosemite National Park, Furnace Creek Inn in Death Valley National Park, and the more rustic Jenny Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park each cost over $400 per night. Most national park lodging ranges from $110 to $200 per night for a double room.  For example, rooms in famous Old Faithful Inn range from approximately $100 for rooms without a private bathroom to $225 for superior rooms.
     Facilities without a private bath are generally less expensive and easier

to reserve. The majority of national park lodges are owned by the government but operated by private concessionaires. Room rates and food prices in these facilities are subject to oversight by the park superintendent in which a lodge is located. Some lodges, including Furnace Creek Inn and Glacier Park Lodge are owned by the companies that operate them.  National park lodges often have relatively short seasons and are heavily used so reservations should be made well ahead of your planned arrival. 

Additional information about national park lodges

Activity Fees

    Many visitor activities in the national parks are free.  For example, there is generally no fee for guided walks, ranger talks, campfire programs, and enjoying the exhibits and audio visual presentations in visitor centers.  Shuttle service in Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park, and Yosemite National Park is included as part of the entrance fee.  However, some activities entail an additional fee.  In some cases the fee is charged for activities provided by a park concessionaire.  For example, concessionaire Glacier Park, Inc., the firm that operates all but one of the Glacier National Park lodges, offers a variety of park tours in the firm's famous red "jammer" buses with prices ranging from $30 to $90 (less for children).  Xanterra Parks & Resorts, the lodge concessionaire in Yellowstone National Park, offers similar tours of Yellowstone in vintage yellow buses. Admission is sometimes charged for entrance to a park facility or participation in a tour.   For example, cave tours generally involve a fee.  The NPS charges $8.50 for ranger-led cave tours at Oregon Caves National Monument.   Likewise, Aramark Parks & Destinations, the concessionaire at Lake Powell Resort in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area charges a fee for the day-long boat tour to Rainbow Bridge.  The same firm offers Glacier Bay tours and whale watching tours at Glacier Bay National Park in Alaska.  Fees are generally reduced for children (qualifying age varies by park) and, often, for holders of the two lifetime passes listed below.

Selected activity fees at several national park units

Annual and Lifetime Passes

   When planning to visit several national park areas during a single trip or taking several trips during a twelve-month period you are likely to benefit from purchasing an America the Beautiful – National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass, also called an Interagency Pass, that provides access for the pass holder and non-commercial vehicle passengers to all Federal recreation sites that charge an entrance fee.  The $80 pass is valid for one year from the date of purchase.  Take your dream vacation around the United States without one of these passes and you could easily run up national park entrance fees of well over $100, so an America the Beautiful Pass can provide real savings for many travelers.  This pass supplants the Golden Eagle Pass that was sold for many years but is no longer available.  The annual America the Beautiful pass can be purchased via phone at 888-275-8747, ext. 1; via email at fedrecpass@usgs.gov; via the Internet at http://store.usgs.gov/pass, or at a participating Federal recreation site.

    Individuals who accumulate at least 500 hours of volunteer work (for  example, serve as a campground host) are eligible to receive a free Volunteer Pass that conveys privileges similar to the America the Beautiful Pass.  This pass is good for one year from the date of issue. The 500 hours can be accrued by volunteering on federal recreation lands managed by the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, or the Fish and Wildlife Service.   The pass is issued by the Federal Volunteer Coordinator who authorizes that a volunteer has accrued the appropriate number of volunteer hours.
    U.S. citizens and permanent residents age 62 years and older can take advantage of an even better deal - the America the Beautiful Senior Pass that costs only $10 and is valid for the holder’s lifetime.  In addition to free entrance for the holder and passengers in the same non-commercial vehicle, the senior pass provides a 50-percent discount on some facility charges such as interpretive services and camping.  It does not qualify for discounts at national park lodging facilities.  The senior pass must be obtained in person and applicants must be able to prove their age with a document such as a driver’s license.
    A lifetime pass with privileges similar to the Senior Pass is available without charge for U.S. citizens or permanent residents with permanent disabilities.  Obtaining the pass requires appropriate documentation including a statement by a licensed physician, a federal agency document, Social Security disability income, or a document issued by a state agency.  This pass must be obtained in person. Don’t be concerned about acquiring a pass prior to leaving on a trip because all three passes are available at any federal visitor center or entrance station that charges a fee.

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Comprehensive information about all national park lodging facilities is available in The Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges by David L. and Kay W. Scott.  The sixth edition of this book is published by the Globe Pequot Press and retails for $18.95.  It includes room rates, reservation information including phone numbers and web sites, room recommendations, dining options and costs, activities, maps, how to reduce expenses, sketches of the lodges, and information about pets.  The book is available from local bookstores or online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Books-A-Million.  The cover photo is of Glacier Park Lodge in Glacier National Park, Montana.    Order the sixth edition of  The Complete Guide to the National Park Lodges from Amazon.

Contact dlscott@valdosta.edu

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