would you pay $41 to enter a National Park?

Shearwater wrote:
Five pages of responses to the results of a poorly written poll? No one is considering increasing the fees so why the upset?

Well, let's see, Crater lake NP plans to double fees and more to their park, 10.00 ticket to 25.00. Other fees increased also. Public comment welcomed, BLM plans to increase fees to their lands. Where fees didn't apply will now have fees attached. Fees already in existence on their lands will have increase, public comments were welcomed, Utah's Tooele and Rich County BLM wants to up all their fees to their parks, public comment taken , just to name a few. All for year 2015. Wonder how many others will join the parade of requests?

Five pages of responses to the results of a poorly written poll? No one is considering increasing the fees so why the upset?

I plan on going once in life ONLY to these parks. they aren't all there is out there in the big old USA to see. yea I would pay more per car to wander thru.
then off to something else :)

I would pay it for some parks but probably not for others. Some of them, you just have to do and they know that. Lesser parks can't get away with it though.

There is no condition where average fees will ever get lower if we all pay the same price. All that happens is that the fees will just go higher with each change of fee structures. It never goes down. Think UP! Have you found anyplace you been to before that lowered the price since your last visit?

Cramped campgrounds, dated or rundown facilities, crowded sightseeing. It's going to get worse, not better, but we're going to have to live with it or be willing to pay to make it better. There are an awful lot of us that want to be there. More and more of us have physical limitations and we are demanding that the parks accommodate them. We want to be able to see everything from a wheelchair, run an air conditioner or a CPAP, have spacious private sites, have access to shops or restaurants, and drive our rigs on roads that don't tear them apart. We want park personnel to protect us from ourselves because we have no common sense, and clean up after us, all the while letting us think that we are out experiencing nature in the raw. Gee, we want a lot. And we want it all for free.

BTW, qtla, I am not sure what you have against electric cooking gear. If I am pulling in with a big rig, I am not expecting to be put in an unspoiled wilderness area (are there even any left in this country?). I am expecting to be put in a cramped area of civilization and I am expecting the people setting the fees to be aware of what I am likely to use and to set the fees accordingly. I am not interedting in "getting my share." I am interested in taking the mess and smells of cooking outside.

Pogoil, I am with you. We'll get shot together. I see no reason why I am getting a Senior Pass while a young family with children have to pay. I am ready to pay my share so the average fee for everyone can be lower.

BigSkyFamily wrote:
No, I would not. I live 20 miles from Glacier National Park and I refuse to pay the $35 they want for entrance.
I live in Montana, I see wildlife in my backyard, and know many places to go play outdoors that don't cost me a dime and are every bit as nice as the park.....with thousands fewer people to trip over.

I'm sort of at this point but with a caveat. I grew up in Alaska and spend as much time there as possible (chasing filthy lucre takes me out too long). I won't spend a dime to get into McKinley park partly because I can see similar scenery in a dozen different places in Alaska and partly because (having grown up in the area), the "Glitter Gulch" area is just repulsive to me.

I would pay $41 (or more) to get into other national parks. Can't remember what I paid to get into Grand Canyon Natl Park 3 years ago in October, but it was worth every penny since I'd never seen it before. Same thing for the Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone, and, yes, Glacier......but I wouldn't pay to get into a National Park that was next to equally scenic state or undesignated land that I otherwise had access to.

No, I would not. I live 20 miles from Glacier National Park and I refuse to pay the $35 they want for entrance.
I live in Montana, I see wildlife in my backyard, and know many places to go play outdoors that don't cost me a dime and are every bit as nice as the park.....with thousands fewer people to trip over.

monkey44 wrote:

noe-place wrote:
Makes my free national parks pass look even better.

Just hope you get to keep it, and it actually works in the future.

I just used it last week at Fort McHenry in Maryland.