Entrance, campground and other fees at Arches and Canyonlands national parks will increase on Oct. 1, under the National Park Service’s efforts to fund maintenance and improvement projects.
Fees for private vehicles will climb from $10 to $25 for one week’s admittance, while the cost of annual passes to Arches and Canyonlands, as well as Hovenweep and Natural Bridges national monuments, will go from $25 to $50.
One-week entrance fees for motorcyclists will also increase from $5 to $15, while people who enter either park on foot will pay $10 per person – up from the current fee of $5.
Fee revenues have funded a wide variety of projects at both national parks over the years, including upgrades to vault toilets, expansions of parking areas and improvements to backcountry campsites. The park service says that additional revenue from these fee increases will be used to create picnic facilities, rehabilitate hiking trails and repair road shoulders.
“These fee increases will allow us to continue protecting, preserving, and sharing Arches and Canyonlands national parks with current and future visitors,” Southeast Utah Group Superintendent Kate Cannon said in a statement. “After careful consideration of the impacts of a fee increase on visitors and the community, we have concluded that this is the right thing to do in order to improve park facilities and important visitor services.”
The National Park Service conducted a nationwide review of entrance fees in the fall of 2014. To solicit local public input, Arches and Canyonlands national parks launched a civic engagement campaign in January 2015. The public involvement process included social media posts, a news release, local press interviews and a public open house in Moab.
During the public comment period, the parks received more than 200 formal comments regarding the proposed fee increases. While a majority of comments supported the increases, others felt a lower fee for motorcycles was warranted. In response, the park service lowered its motorcycle fees from $20 to $15.
To encourage visitors to enter the park during less crowded times, Arches National Park will periodically offer reduced entrance fees of $10 per private vehicle or motorcycle during off-peak hours. Advance notice of the off-peak rates will be posted on Arches’ website at nps.gov/arch, and at the Moab Information Center.
Agency says additional revenue will fund improvements at Arches, Canyonlands
For more information about camping fees or fee increases at Arches National Park’s Fiery Furnace, go to nps.gov/ arch. Information about fee increases at Canyonlands National Park can be found at nps.gov/cany.
