News Release

Everglades National Park increases park entrance fees for 2024

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News Release Date: December 4, 2023
Contact: Media contact: Allyson Gantt, 786-610-8023
Contact: General information, 305-242-7700

Beginning Jan. 1, 2024, Everglades National Park will implement a modest increase in entrance fees. Fees for vehicles and vessels will increase from $30 to $35 for a seven-day pass. Pedestrian, motorcycle, bicycle and paddle-craft will also increase by $5. The annual pass will increase from $55 to $70. Additional changes can be found on the park’s website. The National Park Service (NPS) is committed to enhancing the visitor experience, and fee revenue helps improve visitor facilities and infrastructure in parks.

The entrance fees were last raised on Jan. 1, 2019. At that time, as part of ongoing efforts to address aging park infrastructure and improve the visitor experience, the subsequent increase was intended to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2020. These changes were postponed until the completion of the overnight lodging facilities in Flamingo, which just opened on Nov. 1.

The NPS standardizes rates in parks across the country. Since 2006, the National Park Service has had an entrance fee structure in place that simplifies and standardizes entrance fees across parks of similar types. Everglades National Park is aligned with other parks similar in size and amenities.

Out of the 425 national parks, just over 100 charge entrance fees that range from $5 to $35 per vehicle. The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) allows the NPS to collect and retain revenue and requires that fee revenue be used to enhance the visitor experience. At least 80 percent of the money stays in the park where it is collected, and the other 20 percent is used to benefit parks that do not collect fees. The funds are used to enhance the visitor experience by providing programs and services, habitat restoration, and infrastructure maintenance and repair.  

The National Park Service offers several days each year when admission is free. The 2024 dates will be announced in December. The fee waiver for the fee-free days applies only to entrance fees and does not cover amenity or user fees for camping, boat launches, transportation, special tours, or other activities. 

The Interagency Pass Program offers an assortment of annual, and lifetime passes (Interagency Passes) that provide U.S. citizens and visitors a cost-effective and convenient way to access federal recreational lands. Since Nov. 11, 2022, veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces and Gold Star Families have free lifetime access to national parks and other federal recreation areas managed by the Department of the Interior, U.S. Forest Service and the Army Corps of Engineers. Free access means free entrance to national parks and federal wildlife refuges that normally charge entrance fees.

For a complete list of fee changes and frequently asked questions, visit our website at https://www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/fee-change-faqs.htm

To purchase passes online, visit www.nps.gov/ever/planyourvisit/fees.htm

Learn more about Everglades National Park online at nps.gov/ever or follow the park on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.   

Tags: fees and passes

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