The good news is most of California’s state parks aren’t closing.
The bad news is you’ll be paying more to use them.
Day use and camping fees will increase at state parks next week in an effort to help offset recent budget reductions. Officials said the measure will keep some parks open, but not all.
Starting Monday, day-use parking fees will increase by $2 to $5, and camping fees will increase by $10 to $21 a night, parks spokesman Roy Sterns said.
In addition, annual passes will go back on sale immediately at the existing price of $125.
“In these dire economic times, we can no longer afford to keep our fees at their current levels,” state parks director Ruth Coleman said.
During the state’s budget crisis, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed cutting the agency’s budget by $70 million, which would have resulted in the closure of as many as 220 parks. The budget approved by lawmakers in late July directly reduced state park funding by $14.2 million.
A list of specific parks where fees will increase will be made available when they go into effect, officials said.
At Millerton Lake State Recreation Area, two employees were tight-lipped about the fee hikes, saying they did not have any specific information. No supervising rangers were available for comment.
Users currently pay a $7 per vehicle entry fee, plus $7 to launch a boat. Campsites cost $25 per night, $35 for one with RV hookups.
Officials say the fee increases will not raise revenues to the point where the state park system is self-sustaining, and some individual parks may still face closure.
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