Great Smoky Mountains National Park—the most-visited national park in the U.S. with 14.1 million visitors in 2021—is instituting fees for parking passes and increasing charges for camping, the park announced last week (August 17, 2022).
Visits to the park have increased 57 percent over the past decade to a record 14.1 million last year and have taken a toll on facilities, the park said in a news release. Additional revenue from the changes would allow the park to address renovations along with law enforcement staffing challenges and services including trail maintenance and trash removal.
These fees are part of a nationwide trend as parks manage record-breaking crowds and seek to generate revenues to support the staffing and facilities required for this increased visitation.
“We take great pride in being the country’s most visited national park,” Cassius Cash, the park’s superintendent, said in a statement. “But that distinction comes with tremendous strain on our infrastructure. Now we will have sustained resources to ensure this sacred place is protected for visitors to enjoy for generations to come.”
Here are details on the new fees at Great Smoky Mountains National Park as well as some other national parks to help you plan your next national parks trip.
Related: The Ultimate Guide to Great Smoky Mountains National Park
Great Smoky Mountains fee details
As part of its “Park it Forward” fundraising and development campaign, Great Smoky Mountains National Park will require any vehicle parking within the park to purchase and display a parking pass beginning March 1, 2023.
The parking fees will be $5 for a day pass, $15 for a weekly pass, and $40 for an annual pass. Passes are good for a single vehicle and do not allow upgrades or transfers. The pass will be valid anywhere within the park for the duration of time paid for. There is currently no cap on the number of passes that will be sold in a given day, week, or season.
Interagency passes (aka America the Beautiful passes) will NOT be accepted instead of the parking tag and will NOT provide a discount for the purchase of the parking tag.
Visitors just passing through the park or stopping for less than 15 minutes will not be required to purchase a pass. “If you want to come by the visitor center and use the bathroom you don’t need a pass,” Cash said in an Associated Press interview. “We are trying to capture the costs of services used not nickel-and-dime every vehicle. If you want to stop at an overlook and take a selfie with the beautiful scenery you can still do that (for free).”
Admission to the park is free and there are no toll charges for driving along its many scenic roadways.
Camping fees throughout Great Smoky Mountains National Park will also increase for the first time in a decade. Backcountry camping fees will double to $8 per night with a maximum of $40 per camper. Frontcountry family campsite fees will rise to $30 per night for primitive sites and $36 per night for sites with electrical hookups. Group camps, horse camps, and picnic pavilions fees will increase by 20 percent to 30 percent. Daily rental rates for the Appalachian Clubhouse and Spence Cabin in Elkmont will rise to $300 and $200, respectively.
All of the revenue generated by the parking passes and increased camping fees will “directly support operational costs for managing and improving services for visitors including trail maintenance, custodial services, trash removal, and supporting more staffing,” according to the park website.
Parking Tag Basics
Effective March 1, 2023
Valid parking tags will be required for any vehicles parking in the park starting March 1, 2023.
Display of physical parking tags in each vehicle will be required.
Three tag durations will be available for purchase for all vehicle sizes and types:
- Daily – $5
- Up to 7 Days – $15
- Annual – $40
Parking tags will not be refundable, transferable, or upgradable.
Each tag will be valid for a single vehicle.
Parking tags will be available for purchase both online and onsite.
Parking tags will not be required for motorists who pass through the area or who park for less than 15 minutes.
Parking tags will not be location-specific. A parking tag will be required to park in any designated parking spot anywhere within park boundaries.
Related: Get Off the Beaten Path with These Lesser-Known National Parks
Fee increases at other national parks
Many other national parks are implementing fee increases for parking, camping, and facilities access (although few have increased park entrance charges). The National Park Service says these fees are necessary to maintain and improve the infrastructure and to improve staffing to handle the dramatically increased visitation.
During busy summer peak visitation times, popular U.S. parks and certain areas within the parks have been requiring reservations and charging nominal reservation fees of about $2. Yosemite National Park and Arches National Park are among those charging for timed-entry passes. Zion National Park has been charging reservation fees to hike the popular Angels Landing Trail.
Rocky Mountain National Park increased its one-day vehicle entry pass to the park from $25 to $30 this May.
Related: What to Expect at the National Parks this Summer 2022
“The fee increase is necessary to improve and maintain high-quality visitor services,” according to the park. “While basic park operations are funded by direct appropriations from Congress, the recreation use fees collected by the park are used to support new projects and the ongoing maintenance of park facilities that directly enhance the visitor experience.”
The park also is increasing camping charges across the board. Winter campground fees will increase from $20 to $30 per night beginning on October 12. Summer campground fees will increase from $30 to $35 per night beginning summer 2023. In addition, group site campground fees will increase by $10 for each tier in group size to $50, $60, and $70.
Kings Canyon and Sequoia national parks announced this month that they will increase camping fees in 2023 and 2024 to fund needed improvements to the camping areas. Standard campsite charges will rise from $22 to $28 in 2023 and $32 in 2024. Prices for other group campsites and stock campsites will see similar 25 percent-30 percent price increases.
It’s not just national parks increasing visitor fees. The Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area outside of Las Vegas which is also experiencing record visitation has proposed raising its fees. Admission for cars to drive its 13-mile scenic loop will rise from $15 to $20 in 2023 with the annual park pass fee rising from $30 to $50. The Bureau of Land Management which governs the park is also proposing to add a $2 online and on-site reservations fee ($3 by phone). Campground and picnic area reservation fees will rise to $8 online and on-site ($9 by phone).
Related: 11 Tips for Visiting a National Park this Summer
Bottom line
Over the past year, destinations across the U.S. national park system have faced crowding and traffic issues as record-setting numbers of visitors came to the parks during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to better manage these crowds—and to fund the staff and improvements necessary to provide infrastructure—many parks across the country are instituting new fees and reservation systems.
The new Great Smoky Mountains National Park parking fee should not discourage anyone from visiting as the nominal charge of $5 a day is a bargain considering there are no park entrance fees.
However, the increased parking fee coupled with the increased camping fees and new fees at other national parks signal a trend that visitors should expect higher charges going forward.
Worth Pondering…
However one reaches the parks, the main thing is to slow down and absorb the natural wonders at leisure.
—Michael Frome