Visiting a National Park This Summer? Why This $2 Fee Is Worth Paying

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A negligible amount of money could make your next national park trip much smoother. Read on to learn more. 

America is loaded with national parks, and visiting one could be a great thing to do on your upcoming summer vacation. In fact, you might specifically opt to plan your travel around a national park itinerary.

But because some national parks are extremely popular, visitors can run into trouble with overcrowding. To be clear, there’s commonly plenty of room to spread out once you get into an actual park. But parking areas can fill up quickly, leaving visitors with few options.

To avoid issues, some national parks have begun requiring visitors to make a reservation ahead of time. Doing so might cost as little as $2. But if you don’t take that step and pay that fee, you might get shut out from visiting the places on your list.

Don’t let your summer vacation plans get ruined

There may be certain national parks you’ve always wanted to visit. And you may be willing to rack up a hefty credit card tab to fly to a remote part of the country and experience the glorious scenery that our national parks have to offer.

But if you don’t book a reservation to certain national parks in advance, you may not get to visit them at all. And that, frankly, would be a shame — especially given how inexpensive it is to do so.

In fact, national park reservations are technically free, but there’s a processing fee you’ll generally be hit with. That fee can be as low as $2, though, which is probably less than what you spend on store-bought coffee at your favorite cafe.

Plan ahead

Generally, you have to reserve a spot at a national park on a per-car basis, not a per-person basis. That’s because, as mentioned, a big issue that tends to arise from having too many visitors is running out of parking. When this happens, visitors tend to park illegally, which can cause traffic issues and, in some cases, pose a danger.

Also, some national parks have heavily traveled roads that can easily get backlogged. That, too, can cause problems. So in some cases, you might have to make a reservation ahead of time to access a specific road within a park.

If you’re planning to visit any of the national parks on this list, you should know that vehicles require advance reservations this summer:

Acadia National Park in MaineArches National Park in UtahGlacier National Park in MontanaHaleakalā National Park in HawaiiRocky Mountain National Park in Colorado

You can make your advance reservations online, at which point you’ll typically be charged a non-refundable processing fee of $2 to $6.

Of course, this doesn’t mean it’ll cost you $2 to $6 to visit a national park. That’s just the fee for a reservation to do so. You should also expect to pay a separate entrance fee.

Acadia National Park, for example, charges $35 per vehicle to enter the park and $30 per motorcycle. If you’re walking in on foot, expect to pay $20. These fees, however, give you access to the park for seven days.

You can also buy an $80 annual national parks pass that gives you access to all national parks within a given year. This could be a smart option if you’re planning to visit multiple parks. But again, be sure to make your reservations ahead of time so you don’t get shut out.

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