Fee Hike Coming to State Parks

A slew of camping fee increases for state parks will go into effect on May 1 to help raise new revenue for the cash strapped California Department of Parks and Recreation.

At , visitors will have to pay $45 a night for family camp sites, a $10 increase for the plots that can be occupied by a maximum of eight people, according to a press release.

The one group camp site, which can be housed by up to 60 people, will see its nightly fee jump from $200 to $225, the release read.

At Point Mugu State Park, family camp sites at Big Sycamore Canyon are going to cost $45 a night, another $10 increase, while group rates at La Jolla Valley will jump from $165 to $225.

Roy Stearns, a spokesman with the state's Department of Parks and Recreation, said the fee hikes are in response to ongoing funding cuts. The parks budget could be as low as $100 million come July, a $75 million drop in the last six years, he said.

Of the department's 279 parks, 70 of them are on a potential closure list, Stearns said.

View the accompanying document for a list of camping fee increases across the state.