Hawaii island’s Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park will be increasing its entrance fees in 2020 to fund infrastructure and maintenance needs.
“Throughout the country, the combination of an aging infrastructure and increased visitation has put a strain on park roads, bridges, campgrounds, waterlines, bathrooms, and other visitor services and led to an
$11.9 billion deferred maintenance backlog nationwide,” the National Park Service said in a news release.
The updated entrance fees will come into effect Jan. 1 for Volcanoes National Park along with 116 other national parks across the country. Another 300-plus national parks in the U.S. will remain free of charge.
Entrance fee revenue stays with the park service, which said that 80% of Volcanoes’ entrance fees stay within the park, and 20% will help fund projects for other national parks.
Turning the park’s Ohia wing into a museum, producing a new park orientation film and providing new exhibits to display the 2018 volcano eruption are some of the projects to be done.
The fee changes are as follows: The seven-day pass per vehicle will increase $5, from $25 to $30; pedestrian and bicycle entry will increase $3, from $12 to $15; and motorcycle entry will increase $5, from $20 to $25.
The Tri Park Pass, which allows unlimited access to Hawai‘i Volcanoes and Haleakala National Parks, and Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, will increase $5, from $50 to $55.
Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park had 1.1 million visitors in 2018, who spent $94.1 million in communities near the park, supporting over 1,000 local jobs and providing a $123 million benefit to the community.
The annual America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Lands Annual Pass and Lifetime Senior Pass will stay $80.