News Release

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park to Modify Entrance Fees in 2020 to Address Infrastructure Needs and Improve the Visitor Experience

Date: April 20, 2018
Contact: Brad Bennett, 423-867-6940, x3

Fort Oglethorpe, GA: The National Park Service (NPS) announced today that Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park will modify its entrance fees to provide additional funding for infrastructure and maintenance needs to enhance the visitor experience.  Effective January 1, 2020, the entrance fee to Point Park will be $10.00 per person, age 16 and over.  The receipt will be valid for seven days. The annual park pass will be $35.00. 

Revenue, collected from entrance fees, remains with the National Park Service and helps ensure a quality experience for all who visit.  At Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, 100 percent of entrance fees stay in the park and are devoted to projects that support the visitor.

In response to public comments on a fee proposal released in October 2017, there will be a modest increase for all entrance fee-charging parks, rather than the higher peak-season fees initially proposed only for 17 highly-visited national parks.

“Park entrance fees are a vital part of our overall strategy to fund infrastructure repairs and improve the experience for all park visitors,” stated Superintendent Brad Bennett. “With additional investments from annual project funding and philanthropic support from park partners, we are committed to preserving this special place for future generations.”

National parks have experienced record breaking visitation, with more than 1.5 billion visitors in the last five years.  Throughout the country, the combination of an aging infrastructure and increased visitation has put a strain park roads, bridges, campgrounds, waterlines, bathrooms, and other visitor services and led to a $11.6 billion deferred maintenance backlog nationwide.

The additional revenue from entrance fees at Chickamauga and Chattanooga will help further reduce the park’s deferred maintenance backlog on visitor centers, cultural landscapes, historic monuments, and more than 80 miles of trails.  For example, the recent vista clearing project at Point Park and the pending repairs to the Point Park flagstone walkways were both funded with park entrance fees.

Entrance fees collected by the National Park Service totaled $199.9 million in Fiscal year 2016.  The NPS estimates that once fully implemented, the new fee structure will increase annual entrance fee revenue by about $60 million.

The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) allows the NPS to collect and retain revenue, and requires that fee revenue be used to enhance the visitor experience.  Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park has collected entrance fees since 1998.  The current rate of $7 per person has been in effect since January 2018.  The park is one of 117 National Park Service sites that charge an entrance fee; the other 300 national parks will remain free to enter.

Entrance fees are not charged to persons aged 15 years and younger or to pass holders of the America the Beautiful: The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass series, which includes the Annual Pass, the Senior Pass, the Access Pass, and the Military Pass.  The price of the annual America the Beautiful: The National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass and lifetime senior pass will remain $80. These passes may be obtained at the Point Park entrance fee station in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. All other destinations within the 9,000-acre expanse of the park – such as Cravens House, Ochs Gateway, Signal Point, Sherman Reservation, Orchard Knob, Moccasin Bend, and Chickamauga Battlefield – remain free of any entrance fees.

The National Park Service also has annual fee free days when all entrance fees are waived for everyone.  The three remaining fee free days in 2018 are:  April 21 (the first day of National Park Week), September 22 (National Public Lands Day), and November 11 (Veterans Day).

A summary of the old and new Point Park entrance fee price structure is indicated below:

	Entrance Fee (Age 16-Over)	Annual Point Park Pass
Current Fee – Point Park	$7.00/person  (valid for 7 days)	$30.00/Year
New Fee – Point Park (Effective January 1, 2020)	$10.00/person  (valid for 7 days)	$35.00/Year

   
The purpose of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is to preserve, protect, and interpret the nationally significant resources associated with the Civil War Campaign for Chattanooga and the 12,000 years of American Indian presence on Moccasin Bend. With its historic significance, scenic views, and 100-mile trail system, the park continues to serve as a major driver of the local tourism economy, remaining the top tourist destination in the greater Chattanooga area with more than 1 million visitors.  In 2016, park visitors spent more than $66 million in surrounding communities, supporting more than 1,000 private sector jobs for a cumulative economic benefit of over $81 million to the local economy.  To plan your visit or to learn more, explore the park’s website at www.nps.gov/chch , like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/chickamauganps, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/chickamauganps.  

For more information about programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423-821-7786, or visit the park website at www.nps.gov/chch.