Fees to Enter Minnesota State Parks Increase

CLOQUET, Minn. —

For the first time in about a decade, the fees to visit Minnesota’s state parks have increased.

Daily park passes have increased from five dollars to seven, and yearly passes for passenger vehicles have increased from 25 to 35 dollars.

The changes began at the beginning of July.

Lisa Angelos, Park Manager at Jay Cooke State Park, says the increased fees are not a boost in revenue, they are necessary to keep maintaining the parks the way they usually do.

“We are seeing an unprecedented use of the state parks as well as costs increasing for – you know – labor and supply and everything else that it takes to run an operation,” Angelos said.  “So the fact that we got the increase allows us to run at the level we have been without doing significant cuts to what we’re providing.”

She says that guests at the park have been overall supportive of the new fees.

Angelos says enthusiasm for Minnesota’s state parks is as high as ever.