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  1. #1
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    Default What The Hell!!!

    I was quite surprised that as a Veteran I didn't get into a National Park for free or a discounted rate. However I dealt with it, but now this.....

    "17 of the most popular national parks could soon become an unaffordable luxury to lower-income Americans if the National Park Service (NPS) implements a pricing system that would raise admission from around $30 per vehicle to $70 per vehicle during peak season. Other proposed fees include $50 per motorcycle, $30 for a person on bike or foot and $75 for an annual pass to a specific park."

  2. #2

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    $75 for annual pass seems like the way to go

    I personally don't see anything wrong with it...Parks are underfunded as it is, why not let the people that go and enjoy it help pickup some of the expenses, while at the same time cut down on the population going to the park for less of an impact.
    Last edited by Alligator; 01-18-2018 at 17:29. Reason: Politics deleted.
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  3. #3
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    Seems pretty steep, especially if that $75 annual pass is only for one park. I'm soooooo glad the citizens of TN/NC thought ahead to prevent that sort of thing from happening to the Smokies.

  4. #4
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    Default

    When you get old enough, buy a lifetime senior pass. It'll save you some money.
    "It goes to show you never can tell." - Charles Edward Anderson Berry

  5. #5
    Registered User ldsailor's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Old Grouse View Post
    When you get old enough, buy a lifetime senior pass. It'll save you some money.
    Uh, uh. It's now $80. I bought mine last year before the prices went up. The senior pass cost $10 then. Nothing is cheap anymore except the air we breathe
    Trail Name - Slapshot
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  6. #6
    GSMNP 900 Miler
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    Quote Originally Posted by illabelle View Post
    Seems pretty steep, especially if that $75 annual pass is only for one park. I'm soooooo glad the citizens of TN/NC thought ahead to prevent that sort of thing from happening to the Smokies.
    It was only TN, and actually it only applies to free access to New Found Gap road. The road was constructed by TN & NC before the park was established. NC deeded the road via abandonment, but TN deeded the road to the national park with a stipulation that access to the road would be free (unless authorized by the TN state legislature). So if they wanted, they could charge for access to the park so long as access to the road remained free. Obviously because of the restrictions for access to the road, it would be problematic (but not impossible) to charge an entrance fee to GSMNP.

  7. #7
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    Why should we veterans get a price break? I never even thought of asking. The senior pass is nice though, now that I am an old guy. Hard to justify that, either.
    "It's fun to have fun, but you have to know how." ---Dr. Seuss

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Gambit McCrae View Post
    $75 for annual pass seems like the way to go

    I personally don't see anything wrong with it...Parks are underfunded as it is, why not let the people that go and enjoy it help pickup some of the expenses, while at the same time cut down on the population going to the park for less of an impact.
    The best deal is $80 for an annual pass for ALL parks.

    https://www.nps.gov/grca/planyourvisit/fees.htm
    Time is but the stream I go afishin' in.
    Thoreau

  9. #9
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    Default What The Hell!!!

    Hey I like that senior pass. A lot of the seniors may have been so busy during the working years, they never had the chance to enjoy these places.
    But I think veterans should be at the top of the list for free access. Without our vets there wouldn't be any national parks - there wouldn't even be a nation.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Feral Bill View Post
    Why should we veterans get a price break? I never even thought of asking. The senior pass is nice though, now that I am an old guy. Hard to justify that, either.
    exactly. i volunteered for the Marine Corps. i never ask for discounts

  11. #11
    Registered User jjozgrunt's Avatar
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    I bought the $80 annual last year, but that was as a tourist and we got our value for money by visiting 7 NPs while we were in the west. I actually wish they would do it in every state here, as our NPs are so underfunded. Yours had fantastic facilities compared to Australia.
    "He was a wise man who invented beer." Plato

  12. #12

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    Personally I don’t think we should pay a thing, just my opinion.

  13. #13
    Registered User colorado_rob's Avatar
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    Yeah, bummer that the lifetime senior pass went from $10 to $80, but still, what a deal! 4 more months, and I get it. Plus for the younger folks, really, $80 for an annual pass is a darn good deal. Works at nearly all NPS sites, including monuments, historical parks, beaches, much more than just the 60 national parks. There are a few NPS sites that do NOT honor the annual pass.

    Enjoy! We're up to 45 national parks visited, working on finishing in a couple years. Big trip to Alaska required....

  14. #14

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    How much of that new money actually gets put back into the parks? I'd wager not much. I did pick up a $10 senior pass just before the price jump, on the off chance I might eventually do that wild west tour.
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  15. #15
    Registered User colorado_rob's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slo-go'en View Post
    How much of that new money actually gets put back into the parks? I'd wager not much. I did pick up a $10 senior pass just before the price jump, on the off chance I might eventually do that wild west tour.
    Almost all returns to the park where collected, according to the NPS, that is:

    https://www.nationalparkstraveler.or...rk-service5360

  16. #16

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    The NPS maintains a majority of monies generated by entry fees into National Parks stay with the agency. In 2016 the NPS collected $200 million from 118 out of 417 parks that charge an admission fee, which is used throughout the NPS system.

  17. #17

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    I got the wife the $10 deal last year before it went up. When I qualify, it will HOPEFULLY still be at the $80.
    For a couple of bucks, get a weird haircut and waste your life away Bryan Adams....
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  18. #18
    Registered User SoaknWet's Avatar
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    I am extremely Proud of how our Country honors the Vets today, I got out in 68, be I can't help to think this veteran discount has been beat into the ground! Insurance discounts, special loan rates and the list goes on. I'd would have been tickled to death with a handshake in 1968!

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by rocketsocks View Post
    Personally I don’t think we should pay a thing, just my opinion.
    Convince the politicians to provide more funding for the parks.

  20. #20
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    Default

    Our National Parks are a treasure, and I would like to keep them that way. Actually, I'd like to see several/many/most/all get some long overdue repairs and improvements. They all require a great deal of work (read as: man hours and materials) just to maintain the status quo, which isn't great. The cost of everything else in our world keeps rising, yet we expect our national parks to do their thing on a budget that was insufficient even 20 years ago.

    Where is this money going to come from?

    And with my sincerest respect to all of our military vets, I have to say that there are many, many other people who serve our country just as selflessly and faithfully, for the good of their communities and by extension the good of the nation -- firefighters, law enforcement, nurses, teachers, and yes even government employees. With the exception of our seniors citizens, our elders, I don't see any reason for any group to be given preferential treatment.

    My two cents.
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