Fee increases set to go into effect next month at Mammoth Cave National Park will be used to renovate the park’s hotel.
Superintendent Sarah Craighead announced Thursday that the new fees will begin March 14.
Most cave tours will increase by $1 or $2, with the Wild Cave tour increasing by $5. Camping fees will jump from $3 to $5, and the cost of reserving picnic shelters will increase $25.
Craighead predicts the fee hikes will bring the park an additional $350,000 this year.
Eighty-percent of the fees collected at Mammoth Cave are used to fund facilities and services at the park. The remaining fees support national parks that don’t charge entrance fees, such as the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace in Hodgenville.
Mammoth Cave accepted public comments about the proposed fee increases from Nov. 14-Dec. 5, 2014. The park says it received 17 comments—12 in favor of the fee hike, and five opposed.
