Update on State Park Fees While Camping

I did some more searching around and still never found specific clarification from any state about this issue.  But, here is what I did find and what I've concluded about it.  Maybe others will find this useful also.

The states I'm interested in all have Annual Passes of some sort for the daily entrance fees, although there is variation in their one-time cost.  Their is also variation in the daily entrance fees.  But, generally, not always, it looks like if one is camping for more than 8-10 nights in any one particular State (and therefore needing to pay daily entrance fees for at least 8-10 days), then getting the Annual Pass is the way to go and would essentially mean that any days over about 8-10, you're not really paying for entrance fees.  At least that's how it's looking to me.  It seems that the States are looking at it this way as well.

Here is the link to a really nice listing of all 50 states and the annual passes available, as well as some additional info on special fees and camping fees etc.

State Park Entrance Passes
https://www.tripsavvy.com/state-park-entrance-passes-3362306

Colorado is $70 for an annual pass, with daily fees of $7-9.  So you'd need to stay ~10 days to reap economic rewards.  Idaho is $40 for an out-of-state annual pass, with daily entrance/use fees of $5.00 per vehicle.  Utah is $75.00 annually but has a senior pass for $35.00 with daily entrance fees of $10 (regular) and $5.00 for senior,s so anything over about 7 days camping.

Anyway, that's what I found. 

Linda

Thanks for the update and the research, Linda. Really appreciated.

The state park campgrounds we've stayed at in NY, SC, GA, and FL have all included daily access in the site fees. In NY at least, our pass for the park we were in also allows free day access to any other state park. Our pass while staying at Four Mile Creek State Park on Lake Ontario for instance, also gave us access to the Niagara Falls and Fort Niagara State Parks with no entrance fees.

As a Utah resident, we have a yearly park pass because we go to a nearby park a lot without camping. There is no advantage in having a park pass if you are camping because the pass is included in the daily camping. That is not what your link says. I have never seen a spot on the Utah State Park reservation system that asks for our pass number or provides a discount. Now I admit I haven't been camping in all our state parks, but I have used 4-5 of them. Summary: Validate the information personally before you buy a pass.