Rocky Mountain National Park is proposing a summer camping fee increase

Heather Willard
·2 min read
1

DENVER (KDVR) — Rocky Mountain National Park wants to increase its summer overnight camping fees for 2025 by $10 at four campgrounds but needs public input before the fees are official.

The changes would be made to four reservation campgrounds: Moraine Park, Glacier Basin, Aspenglen and Timber Creek. That means overnight summer camping would cost $45 a night instead of $35.

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The park is also proposing an additional increase of $10 for the new electrical sites being constructed at the Moraine Park Campground. The proposed fee for the 49 electrical sites is $55 per night.

No fee changes are proposed for group sites, winter camping rates or the Longs Peak Campground, a first-come, first-served summer campground with no water available.

Fees fund necessary park upkeep, improvements

According to the national park, the fee increases are necessary for the park rangers to improve and maintain high-quality visitor experiences and the fees are comparable to “similar services in nearby campgrounds.”

According to the park service, basic park operations are funded by direct appropriations from Congress while fees collected by the park support new projects and ongoing maintenance of park facilities.

Thanks to the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, parks like Rocky Mountain National Park can retain 80% of the fees collected in the park for use on projects that directly benefit the experience of park visitors. The remaining 20% collected is distributed throughout the National Park System.

Rocky Mountain National Park plans to use the fees for projects, including:

  • Hazard tree mitigation: A beetle epidemic is killing many trees in the Rocky Mountains. The fees fund extensive mitigation of hazard trees in or near developed areas and other popular park facilities, such as campgrounds, parking lots, road corridors, housing areas and visitor centers.

  • Campground improvements: The park uses fees to replace tent pad log linings, fire rings, maintain walking paths and repair and replace picnic tables.

  • Hiking trail repairs: Many hiking trail repair projects are funded by fees, such as repairing washed-out sections of the trails and the installation of bridges and vault toilets.

  • Bear management: Rangers use the fees to help keep bears wild at Rocky Mountain National Park. Partly due to the fees, 100% of the park’s garbage cans, recycling bins and dumpsters are bear-resistant and the park service increased the park’s food storage lockers from none to 352.

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The park needs public engagement on the proposed fee increases, which will be accepted through May 23. Submit comments online or mail comments to Rocky Mountain National Park, Office of the Superintendent, 1000 US Hwy 36, Estes Park, CO 80517.

All information included in a comment is public record, including personally identifying information. Although you can ask for the Forest Service to withhold personal identifying information from public review, they cannot guarantee they will be able to do so.

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