How Much Would You Pay To Visit Yellowstone National Park?

Above, formations at Yellowstone's Mammoth Hot Springs. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

A few years ago, a backlog of national parks maintenance and other projects of around $11 billion was in the news quite frequently.

A bill was proposed to address this backlog, which was signed by President Donald Trump in 2020.  It dedicated $1.3 billion per year for five years to deferred maintenance projects in the National Park Service's nearly $12 billion.

One of the things done was to increase the cost to purchase the Senior Lifetime Pass from $10 to $80. It may sound like a lot, but if used, it is still a bargain. Luckily, before the price was hiked, I got mine at the $10 price.

Apparently, more is needed to address the maintenance backlog. National Parks Traveler asks, How much would you pay to visit Yellowstone National Park?

They begin with:

A new video (below) on how best to fund national parks, built around the maintenance backlog at Yellowstone National Park, wonders how much you would be willing to pay to visit the park, watch Old Faithful steam and bellow and spurt, and perhaps catch sight of a grizzly bear?

It's not a new question. From time to time over the years Op-Eds appear, either arguing for higher -- much higher in some cases -- entrance fees, others saying the National Park System should be free to enter.

Back in 2017 a poll was released with a claim that higher entrance fees would hurt park gateway towns because, at the time, 64 percent of those surveyed said they would be less likely to visit a national park if entrance fees increased. 

 To read more, go here.