Holiday plans at state park? Put your wallet away; park fees waived

The state of Florida is suspending all entrance fees to state parks over Memorial Day weekend.

Gov. Ron DeSantis came to Naples Tuesday to announce the suspension of the entrance fees.

The fee waiver is from May 24 to May 27.

“It’s important that people have the ability to go out and enjoy our great natural environment,” DeSantis said at the Naples Yacht Club where he made the announcement. “And that’s a sentiment that we share with respect to our state parks.”

He also touted how the state has enjoyed record summer visitation with more than 35 million visitors between the months of July and September, which has had a great impact on the economy.

“It’s a lot of people coming from other states who come to visit and other countries,” he said. “And part of the reason I think people come to Florida is we have the best beaches. We have the best fishing and we have the best state parks in the entire country.”

Florida’s state parks in 2023 had 29 million visitors which generated an annual economic impact of $3.6 billion, DeSantis said.

He also said that Florida’s state parks have been awarded four gold medals from the National Parks and Recreation Association, more than any other state.

In 2023 the state introduced a great outdoors initiative that between October 2023 and January of this year provided a 50 percent discount on Florida State Park passes and sportsmen fishing and hunting licenses.

“And what you saw, because of that initiative, we sold more than 55,000 passes, including more than 40,000 family park passes, which has quadrupled the number of passes sold during the same period last year,” he said.

“We’ve invested more than $440 million in our state parks because we want to ensure that Florida families are able to enjoy them now and in the future,” DeSantis said.

The governor said in the next budget year, he intends to include $15 million more for state parks.

Shawn Hamilton, secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection, lauded the governor for his “record investments” in environmental restoration and for maintaining the state’s natural resources for generations to come.

“I challenge you to get out this holiday and spend time with your family connecting to the resources (and) honoring our nation’s heroes,” he said.

DeSantis last week visited the Naples Botanical Garden to announce the state is continuing to combat the harmful effect of red tide through a research- and technology-driven initiative.

The plan is a public-private partnership between the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota.

Established by the state in 2019, the program was set to expire on June 30, 2025. The bill will allow it to continue indefinitely.

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Entrance fees at state parks waived for Memorial Weekend