Your Dollars At Work

Your Fee Dollars

80% of the fees you pay when you enter the park or stay at a campground come back to Shenandoah specifically for projects that enhance your experience. You may notice new firepits in the campgrounds, repairs to the historic rock walls along Skyline Drive, a new feature film in the auditoriums, and better views from the overlooks. These are just a few of the projects that are funded by fees.

 

PSAR and SAR trained rangers conducting an emergency carry-out along a trail.

Your dollars save lives.

You’ve probably heard of Search and Rescue (SAR) before, but are you familiar with Preventative Search and Rescue (PSAR)? The PSAR program is designed to help visitors avoid needing to be rescued by providing education about the time and equipment necessary to complete a planned hike and about the hazards of hiking in Shenandoah National Park. PSAR Rangers are also Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) and are often the first park personnel on scene with an ill or injured hiker. Although information about the trails is available at the visitor centers and trailheads, many hikers are still surprised when a PSAR Ranger talks to them about their planned hike. If you meet a PSAR Ranger on your hike, remember the goal is not to discourage you but to help you have a safe and positive experience in Shenandoah National Park.

 

Vegetation crew preparing to conduct a foliar treatment in the Big Meadows area. 

NPS Photo

Your dollars eliminate invasive species.

Shenandoah National Park contains a host of nonnative animal and plant species. There are 350 nonnative plants -- that's about 25% of the total plants found in the park! Nonnative plants are intentionally or unintentionally introduced into an area outside of a species' natural range. Your fee dollars support this ongoing effort to eliminate plants that harm the park's habitats.

 

Your dollars expand visitor experience.

The allocation of fee dollars towards upgrades to auditoriums and visitor centers at Shenandoah National Park is a pivotal step in ensuring an enjoyable experience for all visitors. The Park's newest visitor center film Shenandoah, funded by your fee dollars, is now available in both visitor centers and online.

 

This sign was constructed and installed with your entrance fee dollars.

NPS Photo

Your dollars enhance visitor use.

Signs are essential in national parks! Shenandoah's sign shop staff fabricate and install all directional and informational signs within the park's boundary. Your entrance fees contribute to staff in the sign shop, as well as all supplies and materials to rehabilitate, repair and replace signs.

 

Your dollars maintain scenic views.

One of the iconic features of Shenandoah National Park is its views from Skyline Drive. The 162 vistas along Skyline Drive total 387 acres of maintained landscape. Vegetation grows rapidly in the mountains of Virginia, requiring hand cutting on often steep and rocky terrain. Your fee dollars contribute to the never-ending effort to ensure that the historic views into the valleys and lower mountains from Skyline Drive are maintained.

 

Sawmill Ridge before being cut by the vista crew, and Sawmill Ridge after being cut by the vista crew.

 

Low Profile Wayside and Stone Wall.

NPS Photo

Your dollars preserve history.

Some of the walls built by the CCC have been preserved and repaired with your fee dollars. These historic stone wall barriers are recognized as contributing features of the Skyline Drive National Historic Landmark District. Originally designed and constructed to be approximately 16 inches above the surface of the adjacent edge of road, these walls have settled, decreasing their height to between 9 and 14 inches. Settlement and vegetation growing between the stones has also contributed to their wear. Rehabilitating the barriers preserves not only the original intent of the guide walls, but also the legacy of the thousands of "boys" of Shenandoah's Civilian Conservation Corps.

 

Inside Shenandoah's ambulance.

NPS Photo

Your dollars support visitor safety.

Your fee dollars help fund Shenandoah's fully equiped ambulance. Each year, approximately 140 visitors receive advanced EMS services from park staff. Shenandoah's ambulance is necessary to transport patients to facilities where life saving medical services can be rendered. In more advanced cases it provides a safe environment to provide EMS care in park until a helicopter can transport. Due to the park’s remote location, EMS services are provided to visitors by park staff often in the ambulance even in the absence of a transport. Having an ambulance at the park enables staff to respond to medical emergencies and deliver life-saving assistance when every minute matters.

 

Campsite with picnic table, fire ring, and bear box from left to right.

NPS Photo

Your dollars improve visitor experience.

Money from campground fees at Shenandoah National Park plays a crucial role in enhancing the visitor experience. These funds enable the park to regularly replace and maintain amenities like picnic tables, fire rings, and bear boxes. By doing so, the park ensures a safer and more enjoyable environment for campers, hikers, and nature enthusiasts. This investment maintains the park's pristine beauty and promotes responsible outdoor recreation, making the Park an even more inviting destination for all its visitors.

 

This bench was purchased and installed with your entrance fee dollars.

NPS Photo

Your dollars comfort visitors of all abilities.

Limberlost Trail, centrally located at mile 43 of Skyline Drive, is a hike for all abilties. The trail's surface is primarily crushed greenstone. Your fee dollars supported the installation of 15 park benches along the 1-mile loop for resting intervals for visitors to use. Pictured is a member of the trails crew staff finishing the project after installing signs on each of the benches to acknowledge your entrance fees that contributed to the project enjoyed by all.

 

Ranger presenting Ranger Program on the lawn of Dickey Ridge Visitor Center

NPS Photo

Your dollars create valuable memories.

Staff at Dickey Ridge Visitor Center, as well as supplies and materials for Ranger Programs, are 100% covered by your entrance fee dollars. Ranger-guided programs give visitors the opportunity to explore the wonders of Shenandoah with a Ranger. Discover stories of Shenandoah's past, take a walk through a unique mountain meadow, or learn about the animals and plants that thrive here. You never know what you'll learn next!