MADISON, Wis. (WSAU) — Users of Wisconsin’s state parks, trails, and campgrounds will be paying more, with many of the fee increases starting Tuesday.
Chris Pedretti is the Section Chief for the DNR’s Bureau of Parks and Recreation. He says state facilities with campsites are among the first to start charging more. “What users will see is an increase of between three and six dollars per night for resident camping rates, and a fee increase of between six and nine dollars for non-resident per night camping rates.”
Campers that want electricial hookups better bring even more money. Pedretti says the new state budget provisions double the cost of a daily electrical hookup. “If you are renting a site with electricity service, it will go from five dollars to ten dollars per night.”
Pedretti says the Legislature’s decision on the electrical fees had to do with the cost of providing the service. “That increase was part of the budget that was signed, and it is to capturing some of the cost for administering the electrical fee services at the parks. That’s what that increase is.”
The new state budget called for the Department of Natural Resources to put the fee increases into effect as soon as changes could be made to the state’s camping reservation system. That took just over a week. Campers who have already reserved sites will still have those reservations honored at the old prices.
Fees are also going up for state park and trail access stickers, but not immediately. “The state budget also outlined fee increases for the state park and forest admissions stickers. That is not effective until the 2016 stickers, so the January 1st stickers that go into effect.”
Annual state park admission sticker fees will increase from $25 to $28 for state residents, from $35 to $38 for non-residents and $10 to $13 for resident seniors. Annual state trail passes will increase from $20 to $25 for an annual pass and from $4 to $5 for a daily pass.
There are several ways to purchase state park and trail system stickers. Pedretti says you can get them right at the properties, through any DNR service center, or call any DNR customer service center at 888-936-7463. The call in centers are open weekdays between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.
Pedretti has seen a strong increase in the usage of the state parks and the state camping system. He says there have been record numbers of visitors to parks in recent years.
