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TORREY, Wayne County — Capitol Reef National Park is seeking public feedback as it explores the possibility of increasing its vehicle entrance fee an extra $5 for the second time in three years.
Other types of entrance fees, such as an annual park pass, motorcycle or bicycle entrance fees, are not among proposed changes, according to Capitol Reef National Park acting superintendent Pam Rice.
If implemented, it would be the second recent vehicle entrance fee; the fee jumped from $5 to $10 in 2015. Rice said the increase was suggested by a regional director to match surrounding parks.
In addition to the proposed vehicle entrance fee increase, the nightly group campsite would be increased from $75 per night to $100, while the maximum would be dropped from $160 nightly to $100 — thus giving a flat rate for campers staying overnight. The current $4 per individual camping rate would be dropped.
This, Rice said, would eliminate problems caused by groups who may have extra people show up after they had paid for a group camping site, especially since she said most people pay online and it would be difficult for the extra individuals to pay at the park.
“This is to simplify it both our for visitors as well as for our administration,” Rice said.
The money from the fee increases would go back to visitors’ park experience, Rice said. These may include helping with the park’s orchards, new visitor center exhibits, support for the junior ranger program and various upkeeps to the park.
The National Park Service statistics show more than 708,000 people have visited Capitol Reef National Park through July and more than 1.1 million people visited the park in 2016. The park said it contributed an estimated $77 million to the local economy in southern Utah.
Rice said she expects a mixed bag of reactions to proposals. When the park proposed jumping fees from $5 to $15 before, $10 became the compromised price.
“I’m very curious to see what kind of public input that we get this time around,” she said.
The deadline for comments on the proposed fee is Sept. 18. Comments may be sent online here, by email at care_public_comment@nps.gov, by fax at 435-425-4128 or by mail sent to Capitol Reef National Park / Att: Fee Proposal, HC 70, Box 15 / Torrey, UT 84775.
