National park fees for international visitors raise more than $20 million, Burgum says

The Trump administration recently announced that controversial new national park fees for international visitors have raised more than $20 million in the past six months. 

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According to the Department of the Interior, the combination of nonresident annual park passes and additional per-person fees for international visitors at 11 national parks have raised $22.5 million since Jan. 1. The fee increases mean that international visitors must pay $250, rather than $80, for an annual America the Beautiful Pass, and pay a $100 per person surcharge at the busiest parks.   

The Department of the Interior didn’t share a park-by-park breakdown of the revenue with SFGATE, or answer questions about what the money will be used for. A National Park Service website says about 80% of all entrance fees stay in the park where they were collected. 

Data obtained by SFGATE earlier this year showed that in January, the majority of international passes were sold at Grand Canyon National Park, followed by Yosemite and Zion. 

“This ‘America First’ pricing is providing our parks with the resources they need to fund critical improvements and enhance visitor experiences across the country,” Secretary Doug Burgum told the Daily Signal, a conservative news website founded by the the Heritage Foundation think tank. 

But parks are finding themselves short on resources nonetheless. At the end of fiscal year 2025, the National Park Service faced a $24 billion backlog in deferred maintenance projects, a number that continues to grow with time. About a quarter of National Park staff have been laid off or resigned in the second Trump administration. And the Trump administration proposed $1.2 billion in cuts to the Park Service last summer, the largest suggested cuts in U.S. history. 

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Reporting has also shown the Trump administration diverted funding from national parks for projects to beautify Washington, D.C., ahead of the 250th anniversary celebrations, including the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool renovation. Maintenance projects that were already approved at parks across the country were halted, including roof repairs at Golden Gate National Recreation Area and purchase of toilet paper and garbage bags for Yellowstone National Park. 

Increasing fees for foreign visitors has had a ripple effect in parks. Canadians told SFGATE this spring they were steering clear of parks due to steep increases in entrance fees and other actions by President Donald Trump. Canada’s national parks, meanwhile, are free for Canadians and international visitors between June 19 and Sept. 7. U.S. gateway towns reported a decrease in international bookings, and tour operators were confused as they attempted to comply with new rules. There were also concerns that residency-verification attempts would further congest crowded park entrance lines.