Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore announced that the park has now resumed collecting entrance fees.

According to a press release, the park began collecting fees on July 25th. The $25 fee covers the park entrance pass that allows everyone riding in a private vehicle access to the park for seven days.

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The park, along with other national parks, suspended fees in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing closure of park facilities. Now, with the park reopened, the decision was made to resume charging the $25.00 entrance fee.

Those that had purchased annual passes for National Lakeshore are being given an extension due to the closures. Passes purchased that were scheduled to expire the end of May 2020 will be extended through the end of August 2020.

The park relies on fees to maintain facilities and provided upgrades for visitors to enjoy, and resuming the fees is a step towards getting back to normal operations. “The National Lakeshore relies heavily on entrance fees to maintain the facilities and services that visitors expect, and their entrance fees go directly toward projects that benefit them. Resuming our fee collection will help ensure that projects such as repairing the flooded dock at South Manitou Island, rehabilitating the maritime museum boathouse, and replacing the Empire Bluff Trail boardwalks will all stay on track", said Superintendent Scott Tucker.

The park is working to reopen self-pay stations located in the areas of the beach road-ends. Within the next week, many local area businesses will also start once again selling National Lakeshore passes. Until then, passes are available at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center in Empire, MI, daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and at the Platte River and D. H. Day Campground offices, daily from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

For more information on park operations visit them online by clicking here.

 

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