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SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Walt Brooks, R-St. George, recently visited the Gunlock State Park campground and was dismayed with what he saw.
Brooks said he found trash scattered over the ground and a site that wasn't being treated well, adding that out of all the vehicles there, only one had a Utah license plate.
"It's amazing how well Utahns take care of our campgrounds and there was a lot of trash around. I was really disappointed at how they were treating our parks and our campgrounds," he said, as the Utah Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee met Wednesday.
This is a growing issue, especially in state parks close to St. George, says Scott Strong, deputy director of the Utah Division of State Parks. He explained to the committee that growth in the parks' popularity has sometimes led to "issues that we have to address," particularly with visitors who aren't as familiar with outdoor recreation etiquette.
This is why the division is exploring the idea of raising the cost of entrance and other fees at state parks for out-of-state residents. Strong offered an update on the matter in Wednesday's meeting, telling the committee that the division is leaning toward eliminating annual passes for out-of-state residents, which already cost about 40% more than for in-state residents, and charging nonresidents double the entrance fee.
"The recommendations that we came up with is to help with impacts on our facilities, as well as displacing Utah residents," he said. "We would look at our in-state resident fee at state parks and then apply a multiplier of, say, two to that fee."
Strong pointed out there are two state parks — a pair of golf courses — that already charge out-of-state residents 15% more than in-state residents, and Bear Lake and Sand Hollow state parks also charge more for people who live outside of Utah. The division reviewed situations where out-of-state residents do pay more than residents, such as for tuition and hunting licenses, and found out-of-state residents typically pay about three times more, he added.
Nothing has been finalized, yet, and the out-of-state increase is still being reviewed by the division, Devan Chavez, a spokesman for the Utah Division of State Parks, told KSL.com on Thursday. If the division decides to proceed with the change, he said it will go into effect as early as next year and nonresidents will likely receive advanced warnings about the change through various forms of media.
The division has the authority to adjust entrance fees to a certain amount without legislative approval, Brooks said. But it's unclear if the fee changes will reach that threshold. Chavez said there's no universal entrance or day-use fee, so it depends on what happens at every park.
"We're still looking at what these increases could and would look like around these areas," he said.
Utah's state parks brought in a little more than 11 million visitors during the 2023 fiscal year, which ended on June 30, according to new Utah State Parks data. So, despite a visitation dip in the 2022 calendar year, the 2023 fiscal year ended with about a 2% increase from the previous fiscal year. Visitation has also more than doubled over the past decade, as parks like Sand Hollow now draw in more than some of Utah's national parks.
The fees the division collects account for most of its budget, helping pay for daily operations, including upkeep.
However, in recent years, the Utah Legislature has approved spending millions of taxpayer dollars to help cover major park infrastructure projects, including new campgrounds and parks. Members of the Natural Resources, Agriculture and Environment Interim Committee appeared to agree with the idea of raising out-of-state fees at Wednesday's meeting, even if the decision is mostly out of their control, because of this.
"Out-of-state visitors cost more. (The division) is spending a lot more for trash and other supplies and it's displacing a lot of Utah citizens, who are paying taxes for the infrastructure," Brooks told KSL.com afterward. "They're trying to figure out that balance, where it's fair for everybody and everyone is contributing to the use of it."
