Fee-free weekends offered during the summer to encourage family
visits
Pinnacles National Monument is offering a bit of an economic
stimulus for park-goers by waiving entrance fees on three weekends
this summer.
Fee-free weekends offered during the summer to encourage family visits
Pinnacles National Monument is offering a bit of an economic stimulus for park-goers by waiving entrance fees on three weekends this summer.
As part of a National Park Service plan, entrance fees at 147 national parks and monuments – including the Grand Canyon, Yosemite and dozens of others – will not be charged on June 20-21, July 18-19 and August 15-16.
“During these tough economic times, our national parks provide opportunities for affordable vacations for families,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said at a news conference at Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio. “I encourage everyone to visit one of our nation’s crown jewels this summer and especially to take advantage of the three free-admission weekends.”
Pinnacles charges a $5 vehicle entrance fee, which is good for seven days and is valid for everyone in the vehicle. The park charges a $3 walk-in fee for adults who enter the park by foot or on bicycle and also offers an annual pass for $15.
The east side of the monument, accessible off of Hwy. 25 south of Hollister, is open 24-hours a day for hiking. Pinnacles Campground offers tent, RV, and group campsites.
Reservations can be made online at www.recreation.gov.
Most Americans live less than a day’s drive from a national park, Salazar said. Last year, national parks attracted more than 275 million visits, generating an estimated $10.6 billion for local economies and supporting more than 213,000 jobs, he said.
For the Park Service, the free weekends will mean a loss of an estimated half-million dollars a day from entrance fees that range from $3 to $25. A total of 147 parks and monuments charge entrance fees; the nation’s other 244 parks are already free.
Kendra Barkoff, a spokeswoman for Salazar, said the lost revenue should be more than offset by an increase in park tourism. Many tour operators, hotels, restaurants, gift shops and other vendors near national parks will offer other discounts and special promotions on the free weekend dates, she said.
The waiver applies only to entrance fees and does not affect charges for camping, reservations, tours or concessions, Salazar said.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., applauded the free weekends. Baucus has co-sponsored a bill that would cap park entrance fees at current rates unless approved by Congress. The bill also would limit fees on national forests and other federally managed lands.
“There is nothing better than spending a weekend in Glacier or Yellowstone, and to be able to do it without straining the budget is even better,” Baucus said in a statement. “Folks should be able to enjoy our outdoor heritage without going broke.”
Kitty Benzar, president of the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition, a Colorado-based group that opposes fees on public lands, said Salazar’s announcement was an admission that high fees are a deterrent to park visits.
“Twenty, twenty-five dollars does a mean a lot to people,” she said.
For more information on the park service’s free weekend offer, see
www.nps.gov/findapark/feefreeparks.htm.
