State parks remind visitors to pay vehicle entry fee

By Reader Staff

After observing visitors disregarding vehicle entry fees, Idaho State Parks officials are reminding would-be park goers that those without the Idaho Park Passport must pay $5 upon entrance to state parks, 

Parks are open to visit during the COVID-19 crisis, but visitors are asked to pay their vehicle entrance fees to maintain the recreational resources.

While parks are seeing big increases in visitors this spring, park managers said a large majority are not paying the $5 entrance fee. An estimated 75% of non-Passport visitors are skipping the fee altogether and accessing the sites free of charge.

The fees help support the parks, especially in times of financial upheaval such as the Great Recession or the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to keep park staff and visitors safe, many parks have closed fee kiosk booths, but the entrance fee still applies. An honor system relies on visitors without Passports to pay their fee at the tube near the entrance.

Idaho State Parks are 90% self-sufficient, meaning that only 10% of funding comes from Idaho taxpayers. Between campground closures and switching to a new registration system, the Parks Department’s reliance on entrance fees has grown at a time when fewer people are contributing.

Parks officials said they cannot maintain the facilities efficiently throughout the year with nearly three-quarters of daily visitors avoiding entrance fees, and asked in a news release April 29 that all park visitors come prepared with $5 cash to place in the fee tube upon entering any Idaho State Park. Also, visitors are reminded to practice safe social distancing in the parks.