Zion National Park officials say the little park in Utah has seen a huge jump in popularity. Back in 2016, 3.6 million folks dropped in for a visit. In 2022, it had gone to 4.7 million, a jump of close to 31%. So it probably shouldn’t be surprising that Zion camping fees are headed up. Hold onto your water buckets, the changes will go into effect in 2024.
“Frontcountry” fee hikes
Here’s a chart showing the lowdown (or is it “highup”?) of the changes for “frontcountry” camping. These are the fees that will affect RVers and other campers directly. New fees will go into effect for “backcountry” camping, canyoneering, and wilderness use permits. For more information on those changes, click here.
Fee change official-speak
Here’s the Park Service official-speak on the fee jumps. “We adopted these changes to improve accessibility and visitor service,” Jeff Bradybaugh, Zion National Park Superintendent said. “These changes are going to help us maintain essential facilities like restrooms and drinking water systems, rehabilitate campsites, and simplify applications for Wilderness Recreation Permits.”
Putting a positive spin on the fee jump, Park Service officials remind users the last time campground fees changed was in 2015. And they’re quick to report that in 2021, Zion recorded more than 5 million visits – the most in its history. However, that seems to be a spike that many National Parks saw, as a kneejerk reaction to COVID isolation.
If Zion camping fee changes followed inflation rate
The Service also says rising visitation has increased demand for campsites and increased need for facility maintenance services such as cleaning restrooms, removing recyclables and trash, and servicing roads and campsites. But keeping it all in perspective, we thought it would be interesting to compare these new fee hikes to the rate of inflation. Most American families have been hit hard in the last months by inflation.
So, if you camped at Zion in 2016, a year after “the last time campground fees changed,” you paid $30 a night for an electric site at Watchman Campground. Next year the rate jumps to $45, or a 50% increase. However, if site fees had been adjusted in-line with the rate of inflation, you’d be paying $38.94 for a site, not $45. The rate of inflation between 2015 and now is 39.8%.
Even so, apparently an electric site at Watchman—even with the fee jump—is a bargain. A non-electric site at Watchman is jumping from $20 to $35 next year. That’s a 75% increase. Park supporters will be quick to tell you that part of the issue is a lack of Congressional support for the nation’s parks. Rather than sourcing funds by budget, parks are left to look for a lot of their funding from users.
We’ll close with Zion’s sum-up of the increase. “The proposed changes will improve access to our reservation and permitting system and ensure Zion is able to continue to steward public health and provide enjoyable experiences for visitors who stay in campgrounds and who recreate in Wilderness.”
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The entire park has become Disneyland anyways. The huge crowds have become intolerable. I’ll never be back again. @@
You should look at the camping fees just outside of the park before you complain. Double or triple the new camp fees. Full hookups, but you’re packed in like sardines. I’ll take the park camping, even at the new price. And apparently, so would everyone else. They are still booked way in advance!
I am so glad we did the ‘customary’ Western National Park tour over 10 years ago when we retired. We camped outside the parks, got in free with our geezer passes ($10 back then), and still faced massive crowds. I can’t imagine what that must be like nowadays!