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PAGE, Ariz. — Lees Ferry may be the next federal campground to undergo fee increases.
Last week, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area officials unveiled a proposal to increase the nightly fee at the Lees Ferry Campground from $20 to $26, or a 30% increase. It would become the campground's first fee increase in five years if approved.
The Lees Ferry Campground consists of 54 campsites and a recreation vehicle dump station just downstream of Lake Powell, which straddles Utah and Arizona. The campground is also tucked between Lake Powell and Grand Canyon.
It shattered all its previous visitation records last year, drawing in 5.2 million visits in 2023. Park officials have only uploaded data from the first two months of this year, but visitation in January and February was up 16% from the first two months of last year — as the reservoir remains much higher than its previously record-low levels.
That led to an increase in some types of overnight stays, per National Park Service data. It logged 682,092 overnight stays across the park last year, up 20% from 2022 but down 24% from five years ago.
However, some types of overnight stays have surged in five years. The number of recorded recreational vehicle campers has jumped by nearly 19 times since 2019, while the number of tent campers soared by about 5.5 times.
It's unclear if these trends have impacted the Lees Ferry Campground, but park officials wrote in the proposal that the extra $6 per night would cover the rising cost of project, labor and administrative costs, all of which have "increased substantially" over the past five years.
"The increased fees are necessary to maintain a high-level camping experience at (the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area)," park officials wrote in the proposal. "Fees will also help offset any additional administrative fees associated with the pick-up, transport, and remittance of the camping fees from iron rangers (collection sites)."
Park officials opened public comment on the plan last week. People have until Sept. 6 to provide online comments about the plan. They will also hold a public open house about the change from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the park's headquarters, 691 Scenic View Road in Page, Arizona, on Aug. 21.
If the park goes forward with the plan, the new Lees Ferry fees will be implemented at the start of 2025.
