News Release  » 

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Beverly Eaves Perdue, Governor

Dee Freeman, Secretary

N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources

Release: Immediate		Contact: Charlie Peek
Date: 2010-04-29		Phone: (919) 715-8709

North Carolina State Parks to Implement New Fee Schedule May 1

RALEIGH -- Starting May 1, North Carolina state parks will implement a new fee schedule authorized by the General Assembly in its 2009 session, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation.

This will be the first such increase in fees in North Carolina since 2003. The change affects visitor services such as camping, cabin and boat rentals, admission to some swimming areas and picnic shelter rentals at all state parks and state recreation areas.

The rate of the increase will vary depending on the service. For example, the fee for a standard campsite without utilities will increase from $15 to $17 per night; admission to swim areas will increase from $4 to $5 per day; and rental for a medium-sized picnic shelter will change from $60 to $70 per day.

Fees in North Carolina state parks help offset the cost of providing visitor services. There are no admission fees to 34 of the state parks, but a parking fee is charged at Jordan Lake, Falls Lake and Kerr Lake state recreation areas. That fee will be $6 per vehicle. There are no admission fees for the parks’ interpretive programs or exhibit halls.

Traditionally, North Carolina state parks have implemented gradual and periodic fee adjustments that keep in step with the Consumer Price Index and are in the mid-range of similar state parks systems in the Southeast United States.

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