Park user fees in Jasper National Park
Did you know that all park user fees collected in the Mountain National Parks, including Jasper National Park, stay in the parks and are used to fund Parks Canada services, facilities and programs?
With the exception of vehicle traffic passing straight through the park on Highway 16, all visitors to Jasper National Park and the Icefields Parkway area are required to purchase a park pass. Park user fees have not increased since a fee freeze in 2008. Currently, user fees are mainly collected at Jasper National Park entry gates and campgrounds.
What do user fees fund?
The majority of funding for Canada’s national parks comes from visitor fees, and to a lesser extent, taxes. Entry and camping fees help pay for services and programs that benefit park residents and visitors—like interpretive programs, information services, visitor safety services and search and rescue, utilities, and the maintenance of visitor facilities. Taxes pay for programs and services that provide a general benefit to everyone, not just park visitors—for example, establishing and protecting national parks for the future, and maintaining major through roads.
By paying user fees, visitors get entry into a protected UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with exceptional opportunities to explore and discover Jasper National Park’s stunning nature and scenery, wildlife, 50-plus picnic areas and viewpoints, six major day use areas, more than 1,000 kilometres of maintained trails, three beach areas and 300 kilometres of maintained roadways.
In Jasper National Park, user fees have helped fund the completion of several important projects in the last few years, including:
New orientation signs, picnic tables, gazebo and privy at Maligne Overlook.
New changerooms, privies and orientation maps and signs at lakes Edith and Annette.
Many trail upgrades and improvements—completion of the 20 km Easy Trail System, Woodpecker Trail and Pony Express trail; repairs and rehabilitation to the Whistlers Summit trail; new loop trail with benches, picnic tables, interpretive media and safety signs at Mount Edith Cavell, a new formal trail connecting Trail #5 to Whistlers Campground, new bridges in Geraldine and Brazeau, and other ongoing trail maintenance projects.
New and renovated washrooms at Whistlers and Wabasso campgrounds.
New playground at Wapiti Campground.
Ongoing repairs and replacements of fire rings, picnic tables and privies.
Many additional projects funded by user fees are currently underway or planned for in the near future, including:
Repairs and upgrades to parking and the bridge at the Mount Edith Cavell day use area (Fall 2014).
New 5th bridge at Maligne Canyon (Fall 2014).
New ‘Glacier Gallery’ and theatre at the Icefield Centre, with permanent installation of the award-winning film Through Ice and Time, featuring local actors (Spring 2015).
Completely revised trailhead signs, with over 50 kiosks featuring trail information and maps already installed, and more signage planned to help orient pedestrians at day use areas, including Maligne Lake and Lake Annette (underway).
Sign replacement of wayfinding and informative signage along roadways, at the Icefield Centre and in all Jasper National Park campgrounds (underway).
New theatre at Whistlers Campground (removal of old theatre underway this fiscal year).
Multiple road paving and bridge recapitalization projects (underway).
What is the new summer 2014 Park User Fee Compliance Program?
Beginning in late June this year, Parks Canada is implementing a user fee compliance program. During the peak summer season, small teams of Parks Canada employees will rove to multiple areas throughout the park, offering visitors without a park pass the opportunity to buy one on the spot. Visitors will be provided information about the benefits of park user fees, and reminded that they need to display a valid pass while within Jasper National Park. The program offers visitors a convenient sales option, and ensures fairness and consistency for park users that already hold valid annual passes or day passes.
Roving compliance programs already exist in many other parks, from Banff to Pacific Rim, and this summer’s program will help Jasper National Park collect statistics on current levels of compliance, thank visitors who have already purchased a pass, and ensure that we continue to collect revenues to continue providing excellent facilities and services for residents and visitors alike.
Parks Canada
Special to the Fitzhugh
