INDIANA DUNES NATIONAL PARK: The National Park Service is seeking public comment on several changes proposed for the fee program at Indiana Dunes National Park. These changes include expanding the reservation system at Dunewood Campground and adding new fees for group camping and some special events and programs.
Expanding the reservation system from half the campsites at Dunewood to all the sites will allow more visitors to use the national park’s campground. Without reservations, many people will not risk the chance of arriving at the park to discover there are no available campsites. This will allow all 67 sites to be reserved online up to six months in advance. There will be no increase in the fee of $25 per night. Use of the campground increased 30% in 2018 when half of the campground went on a reservation system.
The park is also requesting a new fee of $60 for group camping sites. While there are currently no public group sites, the National Park Service is working to establish several of these sites in the Dunewood Campground that will hold between 17-30 people. These sites will be ideal for scouts and other large groups or families.
New fees for some park festivals and interpretive programs are also being sought. While the vast majority of the park’s 400 public programs will remain free, these new fees will help recover the additional costs associated with some larger or more expensive programs. These proposed fees are $5, per car, for festivals like Maple Sugar Time and the Indiana Dunes Apple Festival. In addition, a $10 per person fee is proposed for specialty programs like bus tours and Art in the Park, and a $25 per horse fee, for guided horse hikes.
Comments can be sent electronically to: INDU_Communications@nps.gov or by writing to the Superintendent, 1100 North Mineral Springs Road, Porter, Indiana 46304. If you prefer to comment in person, there will an Open House on these topics on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center located at 1215 North State Highway 49, Porter, Indiana. Comments must be received by February 7, 2020.
www.nps.gov /indu
Indiana Dunes National Park is part of the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 419 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
