Lake Mead to see fee increase in 2016
The National Park Service will ring in its centennial year on Jan. 1 by increasing fees at parks across the country, including Lake Mead National Recreation Area.
The daily, per-vehicle entrance fee at Lake Mead will double, going from $10 to $20 in 2016 as part of a system-wide effort to standardize fees in parks across the country.
The cost of an annual pass for vehicles at Lake Mead will jump from $30 to $40.
Also starting Jan. 1, the entry fee will go from $5 to $10 for individuals and from $10 to $15 for motorcycles. The daily entry rate for boats will remain at $16, but the cost of an annual entry pass for boats will go from $30 to $50. The fees cover use of the park or the lake for a week.
Camping fees will go from $10 to $20 per night for single sites and from $30 to $80 a night for group sites.
Officials at the 1.5 million-acre recreation area announced the coming rate hike Tuesday. The higher fees were first proposed in February.
This marks Lake Mead's first fee increase since 2011, when the per-vehicle entrance cost rose from $7 to $10. The park didn't charge for admission at all before 2000.
Eighty percent of fee revenue collected at Lake Mead pays for projects in the park, including the extension of boat launch ramps into the shrinking reservoir.
The remaining 20 percent helps fund programs at no-fee Park Service sites such as the new Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument at the northern edge of the Las Vegas Valley and Nevada's own Great Basin National Park.
Lake Mead National Recreation Area attracted almost 7 million visitors last year, making it the nation's sixth most-visited Park Service site.
The Park Service will mark its 100th birthday in 2016 with events throughout the year.
When asked about the timing of the fee increase, Lake Mead spokeswoman Christie Vanover said earlier this year that the additional revenue will help parks nationwide improve and position themselves for the next 100 years.
Contact Henry Brean at hbrean@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0350. Follow @RefriedBrean on Twitter.
