Sleeping Bear Dunes to increase entrance, camping fees
From staff reports
After careful consideration, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore will increase entrance and camping fees beginning Jan. 1. Below is a listing of fees with changes:
In order to judge public support for a fee increase, the National Lakeshore concluded civic engagement and public outreach from June 27 to July 31, 2017. Analyzing the information received, the park found the responses ran almost 2 to 1 in support of a fee increase. A total of 55 comments were received expressing an opinion for or against the proposed increases; 37 for and 18 against. Fifty-two comments were received during the Planning, Environment and Public Comment period; 27 in favor of the increases, 14 opposed, and 11 expressing additional views about the fee increases, but not fully supporting or opposing the various increases one way or the other. The park also received 17 comments via Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s Facebook page; 10 in favor of the increases, four opposed, and three others expressing additional views on fees. These results were previously covered by local print and TV media.
During civic engagement, the park received seven comments from local businesses and residents suggesting a one-day pass. At present, Rocky Mountain National Park is the only National Park Service site that is testing the use of a one-day pass. The National Lakeshore considered a one-day-pass, but due to the multi-day nature of many park visits, logistical difficulty in implementation, likely confusion among visitors, increased congestion and wait times at fee collection stations, loss of revenue, and the additional administrative oversight needed, the park opted not to pursue the one-day pass suggestion. This option may be considered in the future.
The National Lakeshore also completed a campground comparability study that showed an increase in camping fees was appropriate. Fees at D. H. Day Campground and Platte River Campground will increase by $4.00 per night. In addition, beginning in 2019, the National Lakeshore will make 100% of campsites in D. H. Day Campground and Platte River Campground (currently two-thirds of the campsites are reservable) available for reservation through the National Recreation Reservation Service. While the fee increase makes the campsites more comparable with local area campsites, it also helps offset the fees charged by the reservation contractor. The 88 campsites at D. H. Day Campground and 177 campsites at Platte River Campground will be available for reservation beginning in 2019 for arrival dates of May 1 through October 15 each year.
