State Parks to Raise Fees

California State Parks officials announced Tuesday the cost of visiting a state park will rise next week.

Photo: State Parks to Raise Fees

Beginning Monday, parking fees will increase between $2 and $5 and camping fees will increase between $10 and $21. A list of the specific fees for each park is still being drafted, but local officials said daily admission to most coastal parks in Santa Cruz County would rise from $8 to $10, San Jose Mercury News reports.

California Department of Parks and Recreation announced fees will be increased to compensate for state budget cuts.

"In these dire economic times, we can no longer afford to keep our fees at their current levels," State Parks Director Ruth Coleman stated in a press release. "The people of California understand that by charging more, we will be able to keep more parks open and preserved for these and future generations," Mercury-Register reports.

But higher fees alone are not expected to prevent the padlocking of up to 100 state parks after Labor Day, a sign of California's fiscal desperation.

If that happens, it will be the first time ever that California has closed a state park, The San Diego Union Tribune reports.