T H E D E E P W O O D S O F G R E AT S M O K Y M O U N TA I N S N AT I O N A L PA R K . P H O T O C O U R T E S Y O F T H E N AT I O N A L PA R K S E R V I C E
Park It Forward
The country’s most popular national park proposes new fees to address record visitation BY WILL HARL AN
Question: What is the most visited national park in the country? Perhaps the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone? Maybe Yosemite? Answer: Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The Smokies hosted over 14 million visitors last year, which is more than the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite combined. HERE’S SOMETHING EVEN MORE surprising: unlike
nearly every other national park, the Smokies has no entrance fees. It is completely free to visit. That may soon change—sort of. For the first time in its history, Great Smoky Mountains National Park has proposed charging a modest fee for parking within park boundaries beginning later this year. There still won’t be any entrance fees to the Smokies, but the park will charge a $5 daily parking fee ($15 for weekly parking passes and $40 for an annual pass). Pedestrians and cyclists would not need parking tags. Why now? Unfortunately, over the past two decades, federal funding for national parks has plummeted, even as visitation has skyrocketed. Over the past decade, visitation to the Smokies increased nearly 60% percent, while Congressional allocations have decreased or remained flat. As a result, Great Smoky Mountains National Park can no longer make ends meet. "When you're in a scenario like this, we have to participate in our own rescue," said Great Smoky
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Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash. "And we need the public to participate in preserving this natural wonder that millions of people enjoy."
The Smokies is also one of the only national parks that is prohibited by law from charging visitors an entrance fee. But it can legally charge a parking fee. Operating and maintaining the country’s most visited national park ain’t cheap. The park employs over 320 permanent and seasonal staff, operates 27 water and sewage treatment systems, and maintains more than 384 miles of roads and 850 miles of trails across the half-million-acre park. The Smokies is also one of the only national parks that is prohibited by law from charging visitors an entrance fee. But it can legally charge a parking fee. If approved, parking fees will begin this fall. Visitors will
be able to purchase parking tags online, in the mail, or at fee machines in the park. Cash anticipates that the parking fees will generate around $14 million in revenue, which can help address serious staff and maintenance shortfalls. And unlike entrance fees, which are shared across all national parks, parking fees stay within the park. That means 100 percent of parking fees will support Smokies operations, including trail maintenance, trash removal, staffing, and law enforcement. Most regional organizations support the proposed parking fees, including the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club, Forest Keeper, and National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). “The Smokies have been trying to make do with less for a long time, as the National Park Service faces mounting costs and shoestring budgets,” says Jeff Hunter, NPCA’s senior program manager. “We support the park implementing a modest fee to park your car near some of the most beautiful trails and views in the country.” The Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians also
