Popular U.S. National Parks To Hike Fees To $35

Above, a mother and her cub in Yellowstone National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

After a public outcry, the Interior Department backed off from the plan to raise entrance fees at the most popular national parks to $70. Now the plan is to raise fees to $35 instead.

Reuters reported:

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Interior Department will hike fees at the most popular national parks to $35 a vehicle, backing off a plan that would have cost visitors $70 a vehicle to visit Yellowstone and other well-known parks, the agency said on Thursday. 

The new plan boosts fees at 117 parks by $5, up from the current $30 but half the figure the Interior Department proposed in October for peak-season visitors at 17 heavily visited parks, it said in a statement. 

The fee increase would help finance a $11.6 billion backlog of maintenance and improvements.

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