Save On Your Visit To National Parks With A Yearly Pass

Fee increases are not uncommon, and often, they are necessary to provide a better experience for travelers. This is the scenario the National Park Service is considering in their continuous commitment to improve the visitor experience and ensure America’s national parks are protected and maintained for future generations. But, you can save on your visit with their yearly passes.

They are currently looking at increasing fees at highly visited national parks during peak visitor seasons. The proposed peak season entrance fees and revised fees for road-based commercial tours would generate badly needed revenue for improvements to the aging infrastructure of national parks. This includes roads, bridges, campgrounds, waterlines, bathrooms, and other visitor services.

The Proposed Fees And Timeline:

Under the proposal, peak-season entrance fees would be established at only 17 national parks. The peak season for each park would be defined as its busiest contiguous five-month period of visitation. So, during the peak season at each park, the entrance fee would be $70 per private, non-commercial vehicle, $50 per motorcycle, and $30 per person on bike or foot.

These proposed new fees would be implemented at Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Denali, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Olympic, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Zion National Parks with peak season starting on May 1, 2018.

Fee increases would start at Acadia, Mount Rainier, Rocky Mountain, and Shenandoah National Parks with peak season starting on June 1, 2018.
Also on the list is Joshua Tree National Park, which will see a fee increase starting as soon as practicable in 2018.

Did You Know? Over 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 417 national parks, and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities.

My husband and I visit several parks throughout the year, and while we’d prefer not to pay more to visit some of our favorites - we understand the reasoning behind the increases. The current estimates suggest that the peak-season price structure could increase national park revenue by $70 million per year. That is a 34 percent increase over the $200 million collected in Fiscal Year 2016.

Save On Your Visit With A Yearly Pass

Now, if the National Park Service does increase prices there are options for saving on your visit to these national treasures.

Those who enjoy camping and recreation at one park often can get a park-specific annual pass for any of the 17 parks, which would be available for $75. This is a good option for those who plan to visit these parks several times throughout the year, which would pay for your pass in just a few visits.

Another option is the annual America the Beautiful Pass that is the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass. This particular Pass provides entrance to all federal lands, including parks for a one-year period, and remains only $80. With either Pass you’re helping contribute to preserving our parks, and save money.

Entrance fees are not charged to visitors under 16 years of age or holders of Senior, Military, Access, Volunteer, or Every Kid in a Park (EKIP) passes. The majority of national parks will remain free to enter; only 118 of 417 park sites charge an entrance fee, and the current proposal only raises fees at 17 fee-charging parks

Plan Your Visit To Our National Parks

For the news on fee increases, view area events and programs, and plan your trip by visiting the National Park Service at www.nps.gov, on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.

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Getaways At The Hilton Garden Inn Gatlinburg

Located on River Road, the Hilton Garden Inn is just around the corner from the entrance to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. This made it easy to plan our visit to the park while enjoying a hearty breakfast cooked the way we like it at the Garden Grille. It was a buffet, and all you can eat - there was plenty of good food to pick from - more than we could eat.

The Hilton Garden Inn has a spacious lobby, so there was plenty of room to eat breakfast and talk with folks in town for the Fall Rod Run Car Show in Pigeon Forge. We all agreed that the staff at the Hilton Garden Inn were very helpful, especially when it came to directions to avoid traffic. If you've been here during peak seasons you know traffic can be challenging. They also have complimentary parking!

One suggestion the Hilton staff had was using the Trolley that is just a short walk away. They were right - it is an affordable way to get around Sevierville and Pigeon Forge. And, the Trolley makes is easy to get around to area festivals like the Fall Rod Run Car Show, and visit some of the exciting attractions like WonderWorks, Ober Gatlinburg, and Dollywood. 

After visiting Dollywood, and other sites it was nice to come back and relax in our cozy room. There are 118 spacious guest rooms and suites with amenities that include complimentary WiFi access, a refrigerator that is great for snacks and drinks, along with a microwave, and coffeemaker. The Gatlinburg Convention Center is within walking distance, and for those in town on business there is an over-sized work desk with a comfortable chair, in addition to a 24-hour Business Center.

Did You Know? - Hilton Garden Inn is the first in LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design - Certified hotel in Tennessee, which means it has several environmentally friendly features like the indoor chemical-free saltwater pool and whirlpool.

Another advantage to staying at the Hilton Garden Inn is we could walk to local restaurants like The Park Grill. If you want a taste of the Great Smoky Mountains, The Park Grill is the ideal place for locally sourced selections like their fresh Fresh Mountain Rainbow Trout or Hickory Grilled Moonshine Chicken. Speaking of moonshine, after dinner we walked a few blocks to the Old Smoky Mountain Distillery to sample some moonshine, and we enjoyed a free concert featuring Monroeville. 

Our stay at the Hilton Garden Inn was memorable, they have a wonderful staff, and with perfect location in Gatlinburg, we were able to enjoy everything we wanted to see on this trip. We look forward to coming back soon because there's so much more than we imagined to experience in the Gatlinburg, and the Great Smoky Mountains!

Plan Your Stay At The Hilton Garden Inn in Gatlinburg, TN

With the Hilton Honors program you can also save with a Guaranteed Discount on your trip. Members can enjoy late check-out, and earn points on other trips or airline and rail miles. To explore rates and current packages available at the Hilton Garden Inn in Gatlinburg visit their website. 

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