Va State Parks & Dog fees
A while back we had a thread going with the pro's and con's of the Va State Park Dog fee's ($5 per night, per dog-max 3 nights) there were a lot of thoughts of better ways to offset the "cost" of pet'...
Forum Discussion
naturist wrote:I agree with everything you said. I will also go so far as to say that I wouldn't have a problem with this fee structure extended to all state and national parks.
I don't have any problem with the fee structure as it is. It is my humble opinion that the primary reason for it is to discourage people from bringing their dogs with them to the park. And I'm ok with that.
Before y'all yell at me, I have a dog, and she goes camping with us. She's the sweetest big black lab you ever saw, hardly ever barks, NEVER barks at strangers (some watch dog, huh?), in fact, never met a stranger, loves kids, too. But I quite understand some folks don't "do" dogs, and a 90 lb black dog can be intimidating, even if she's waggin' her tail. We keep her leashed in camp, pick up after her, and she is an all-round good camper.
I can afford the $5. It's cheaper than boarding the dog at $12 a day. And if I couldn't afford the $5, I wouldn't be able to afford the camping, either.
Given that the state legislature has cut and cut and cut funds for parks I'm astounded they manage to keep as many open as they have. I have no objection to paying for my local, state, and national parks. They are a whale of a bargain, as far as I'm concerned.
