Thanks in part to concerns raised by Cruise Lines International Association, some individual lines, tour operators, chambers of commerce and businesses, the Interior Department is backing down from a plan to impose steep fee increases at the nation’s most popular national parks, including Denali National Park.
Under the original proposal, the entrance fee would have soared from $150 to $1,150 per 50-passenger motor coach plus an additional $5 per passenger. Per-person day fees would have risen from $10 to $30 during the peak season from May to September.
The National Park Service (NPS) received more than 100,000 comments on the proposed fee increase, most of them opposed.
Denali welcomed more than 642,000 visitors in 2017, the park reported. Visitation has continued to grow even as national park visitation Outside has remained flat.
The entrance fee at Denali last increased in 2011. The fee began in 1988 when Denali was added to the list of 117 parks charging such fees. The other 300 parks are free, including the road-accessible Kenai Fjords National Park, Wrangell St. Elias National Park and Preserve and the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park in Skagway.
