Your Dollars At Work

Entering C&O Canal at Great Falls, Maryland, visitors are greeted by a park ranger.

NPS Photo/ E. Cowan

 

How Are Entrance Fees Used?

Your entrance fees support a wide variety of visitor services at Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park. Eighty percent of entrance fees, as well as camping and other fees, stay at C&O Canal NHP to be used for improvements, repairs, and rehabilitation projects that directly affect visitors. The remaining 20 percent is shared among parks that cannot collect fees. Types of fee-funded projects include:

• Repairs and improvements to trails, roads, buildings, campgrounds, and other assets used by visitors.

• Stabilization and restoration of historic structures and cultural landscapes that enhance visitor experience.

• Repair and replacement of signs and exhibits for a safe, enjoyable visit.

• Natural resource protection to preserve the very things visitors come to the parks to experience.

Find out more about how recreation fees provide a vital source of revenue for improving facilities and services for park visitors at the National Park Service - Your Fee Dollars at Work page.

 

How Are Tax Dollars Used?

Your taxes help offset the costs of operating special places like C&O Canal NHP, however they do not cover all of the costs. The number of visitors continues to climb due to the popularity of our national treasures, and the expenses to maintain and staff the parks rise each year. Government funding available for necessities such as road and building repairs, campground maintenance, visitor and resource protection and other services has not kept pace with demand. Federal Lands Recreational Enhancement Act, created by Congress, permits some National Park Service sites to collect entrance and amenities fees to address this shortfall and spread some of the operating costs among the people who directly use the parks.