DELAWARE - The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is considering changes to entrance, annual, and lifetime pass fees for Delaware State Parks for the first time in a decade.
According to DNREC, park fees have not been changed since 2015, while user-funded operating expenses at Delaware’s state parks have increased by 127%. In order to sustain current operations and services, DNREC says they are now weighing fee increases.
A list of the proposed fee changes. DNREC.
“The user fees collected at Delaware State Parks help make our facilities and programs the best, earning our state the National Recreation and Park Association’s Gold Medal recognition for being the best-managed state park system in the country two times in the last 10 years,” said Matthew Ritter, director of the DNREC Division of Parks and Recreation. “Unfortunately, our efforts to broaden revenue opportunities, find creative ways to reduce expenses, and capitalize on the significant contributions by our Friends groups and volunteers are no longer enough to keep pace with the growth in expenditures.”
Park officials say the Delaware State Park system, which includes 17 parks, a marina, and an accredited zoo, drew 7.4 million visitors and generated $822 million in economic activity for state tourism and businesses in 2024.
Park officials say further information on the proposed fee changes is available on their website, where visitors can also take the public survey. Public comment period on the proposed changes ends at midnight on Wednesday, October 29th.
WBOC visited Cape Henlopen State Park on Wednesday ahead of the public comment period closure. Lucy Keough, an out-of-state visitor from Washington, D.C., said she thinks it's worth the extra money to support the park systems.
"They're such a treasure that so many people enjoy and so many people look forward to every single year," Keough said. "Paying a little bit more to protect it and maintain it is surely an investment in the future."
However, Keough said she wishes the proposed increases were more gradual.
"They should do it gradually over a period of years," Keough said. "Then, thereafter, increase it at a more frequent rate than has been the case in the past."
Joan Agheveli, visiting with Keough from D.C., agreed.
"I think every five years rather than every ten years moving forward," Agheveli said. "Because people feel it a lot more when it says double."
Agheveli said she hopes the fees never rise to the point of pricing any visitors out.
"If it just becomes middle class and up, that isn't right," Agheveli said. "If people can't come and enjoy it that's not fair; it belongs to all of us. No one should be excluded just because they can't afford the fee."
Mark Chagnon said he often camps at Cape Henlopen State Park. Chagnon said he thinks there are other areas DNREC should consider raising money through. His suggestion was creating a tiered cost system for those staying in RV's at the parks' campsite.
"The big, 40 and 50-foot luxury campers pay the same as us, even though we have a 16-foot camper and they use more resources," Chagnon said. "They should explore that first to make it a little fairer. We're retired, so we're on a fixed income."