Olympic National Park Proposes to Increase Park Entry and Use Fees; Funds to Support Park Facilities and Services

Date: October 31, 2014
Contact: Barb Maynes, 360-565-3005

With national park areas around the country, Olympic National Park is inviting public input on possible fee increases proposed for 2015.

With few exceptions, fees across the national parks have not changed since 2006.This is true at Olympic, where current fees have been in place since January 2006.

Entrance Fees	Current	Proposed
Vehicle (7 days;all park entrances)	$15	$25
Motorcycle (7 days;all park entrances)	$5	$20
Person (7 days;all park entrances;16 &older only)	$5	$12
Annual Pass (good for one year from purchase date;good for pass holder and vehicle occupants at all park entrances)	$30	$50

"We are committed to providing all visitors with the best possible experience, while still providing affordable options to enjoy the park," said Olympic National Park Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum. "The money from camping and entrance fees is used to improve visitor facilities like water and wastewater systems, campgrounds, roads, trails and visitor centers."

Fee revenue at Olympic is used to improve visitor facilities and services, from trail and wilderness bridge repair to new visitor center exhibits to operating the park's wilderness information program.

This is done periodically to ensure that park use fees are aligned with area pricing standards.

Campground Fees	Current	Proposed
Fees vary according to availability of potable water and advance reservation system.	$10-$18	$15-$25
Overnight Wilderness Use Permits	Current	Proposed
Registration Fee (per group)	$5	discontinued
Nightly Fee (per person 16 and older only)	$2	$5 in 2015;$7 in 2017
Annual Wilderness Pass (per person;$15 for each additional household member)	$30	discontinued
RV Sewage Dump Fee	$5	$10
Ranger Guided Snowshoe Walk	$5 donation	$10/adults $5/youth (6-15 years)

Entrance fees apply only to people 16 years of age and older;youth and children 15 years old and younger enter the park for free. Olympic National Park also hosts nine entrance fee-free days throughout the year.More information about these options, along with the Senior, Access and Military passes that provide free entry are available at www.parkplanning.nps.gov/OLYMfees.

Olympic National Park is a major economic engine for the surrounding area.A National Park Service (NPS) report issued in July of this year showed that in 2013, 3,085,340 visitors to Olympic National Park spent $245,894,100 in communities near the park. That spending supported 2,993 jobs in the local area.This year's visitation has already exceeded last year's, with recreation visits recorded through the end of September 2014.To date, Olympic's annual visitation is up 28 percent over last year.