It will cost more to use some sites in the Daniel Boone National Forest in 2022
It will cost a little more next year to camp, use a shooting range or put in a boat at some sites in the Daniel Boone National Forest.
The U.S. Forest Service announced Thursday that user fees will go up at 32 recreation sites in the forest beginning Jan. 1.
There are already fees to use most of the places, but nine that are now free will have fees added.
In general, the fee at sites that require a one-day pass will go up from the current $3 to $5, according to a news release from the Forest Service.
For sites that require a three-day pass, the fee will increase from $5 to $7, and the fee at sites that require an annual pass will go from $30 to $50, according to the release.
At the White Sulpher OHV system in Bath County and the Redbird Crest OHV system in Clay and Leslie counties, the price of a one-day pass will increase from $7 to $15. The current three-day pass will be dropped, and an annual pass will increase from $40 to $60, according to the release.
The Forest Service uses money from the fees to maintain or improve facilities such as parking areas and boat ramps, to pay for operations and to match funding from other sources to take on larger projects.
“Our goal with these changes is to support the work and projects that both the forest and our visitors want to see,” H. Scott Ray, supervisor of the forest, said in the news release. “For most recreation sites, the change works out to just a couple dollars more. But, collectively, these changes will help the Forest Service better support and even enhance recreation opportunities well into the future.”
The list of sites affected and the new fees are available at https://bit.ly/3lwP79y.
The sites that haven’t had fees but will beginning in January are Bangor Boat Ramp, Billy Branch Day Use Area, Clear Creek Boat Ramp, Leatherwood Boat Ramp, Bee Rock Boat Ramp, Craigs Creek Boat Ramp, S-Tree Campground, Whitman Branch Shooting Range and Great Meadows Campground.
The campgrounds affected by the fee increases include the Red River Gorge back country site and Koomer Ridge, as well as Bee Rock in Pulaski and Laurel counties.
The increases won’t affect one-day and three-day passes purchased prior to Jan. 1, 2022. Those passes purchased at the current rates will be good into 2022.
However, annual passes that will go on sale the week of Dec. 6 will include the increases.
There is generally no cost for day-use hiking in the forest, and no fee for day-use rock climbing.
The Forest Service took public comments on the proposed fee increases, and the feedback was generally in favor, said Tim Eling, a spokesman for the forest.
An advisory committee made up of members of the public recommended the changes, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved them last month, according to the release.
The Daniel Boone National Forest covers 708,000 acres in 21 counties in Kentucky. Many recreation sites in the forest still won’t have a user fee.
This story was originally published December 3, 2021 at 10:40 AM.
