Big fee changes proposed for multiple Bryce Canyon, Zion campgrounds

BRYCE CANYON, Utah — A pair of national parks in southwest Utah are considering fee changes as they look to cover the cost tied to the region’s growing popularity.

Officials from Bryce Canyon and Zion national parks each unveiled proposals last week that would increase the cost of fees at North and Sunset campgrounds at Bryce Canyon, as well as electric and nonelectric sites at the Lava Point, South and Watchman campgrounds at Zion.

Under the proposed changes, all campsites at Bryce Canyon’s North and Sunset campgrounds would cost $30. The park’s current overnight fee is $20 for tent-only campground loops and $30 for RV loops. Each campground would be open between mid-May and October, and reservations for all campsites within these areas would be available up to 12 months in advance through Recreation.gov.

Sunset Campground, which is closed during the winter, currently operates on a first-come, first-served system. That system will remain unchanged at the North Campground during the winter months.

Meanwhile, the cost of nonelectric campsites at South and Watchman campgrounds would be set at $35 per night, and Lava Point campsites would be set at $25 per night. All three are currently $20 per night. Electric campsites at Watchman Campground would be raised from $30 per night to $45 per night, under the plan.

Park officials are also proposing a new $5 fee for RV travelers who use Watchman and South campground dump sites but don’t stay at the sites.

Zion is seeking to move its Wilderness Recreation Permit system from a third-party contractor to Recreation.gov, which has some additional campsite changes. The website would hold all the necessary seasonal lotteries, advance day use, daily lottery and walk-up permits will be available for day and overnight uses, including overnight camping at Wilderness campsites.

Under the plan, both walk-up permits and advanced reservations would cost $20 per reservation, up from zero to $5 in cost, respectively. All group sites would be charged $7 per person per night, as opposed to the current system which charges $15 to $25 depending on the group size.

If approved by the respective parks, the new fees would take effect at the start of 2024.

The collected fees are used to help with park upkeep, officials from both parks say. Bryce Canyon, for example, says 80% of its fee revenues go into trail rehabilitation, campground picnic table replacement, shuttle system operation and other similar projects. Zion officials add that surging visitation led to an “increased need” for facility maintenance services, like cleaning restrooms, removing trash and road repairs.

“Fee dollars do great things for visitors,” said Zion National Park superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh, in a statement. “These funds help us maintain essential facilities like restrooms and drinking water systems, rehabilitate campsites and ensure rangers are available to patrol trails, canyoneering routes and other wilderness areas.”

Zion National Park recorded more than 2.1 million visitors between January and June this year, which is a 10% drop-off from the same period of time last year and a 16% decrease from the park’s record-breaking 2021 season, according to park visitation data. However, it’s still up 6% from the first six months of 2019, showing that visitation is still higher than it once was.

Close to 1.4 million people have already visited Bryce Canyon National Park during the first seven months of this year, too. More than 1 million of those have come since May 1, as the park is on pace for its best summer since the COVID-19 pandemic. While its visitation has yet to surpass pre-pandemic levels, there have already been more people who have visited the park this year than in all of 2013, per visitation data.

Other proposed changes at the parks

Both parks also introduced proposed fee changes to a pair of outdoor recreation permits.

For example, Zion’s Wilderness Recreation Permit change would affect day-use activities, including Subway and Narrows canyoneering trips. The plan calls for a blanket fee of $6 per application or reservation for a Wildnerness recreation permit. That’s an increase of $1 from the current seasonal or daily lottery cost, as well as any advanced reservation.

Any walk-up day use permit is currently free of charge, but it would also be $6 in the future.

Bryce Canyon, on the other hand, is seeking to move its popular full moon hikes to an online lottery. Under the proposed plan, visitors would register online through Recreation.gov for a lottery that will determine who receives a permit a “few days” ahead of a hike. This would replace the current same-day, in-person lottery held a few hours before the hike, where 25 permits are issued every night there’s a hike.

Both parks are still collecting public comments on the proposed changes through the end of August. People can leave comments on Bryce Canyon’s proposal online at this website, and Zion’s proposal at this website, before any changes are finalized.