Fee Adjustment Update
September 14, 2021
The Larimer County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the recommended adjustments to user fees for Larimer County Department of Natural Resources (LCDNR) parks and open spaces today, September 14, 2021. The new fees will go into effect Jan. 1, 2022.
Fees will rise for daily permits, annual permits, and all types of camping to ensure operational sustainability in the face of increasing visitation and population growth. Resident day use permits will increase from $9 to $10, and resident annual vehicle permits will rise from $90 to $100. Disabled individuals and low-income (bison) permits will incur no increase.
Please visit the following documents of interest for more information or to view the approved 2022 fee schedule.
Background
Larimer County collects user fees for day use, camping, boating, and facility rentals at several DNR-managed properties to help fund the management of reservoir parks and open spaces.
- User fees collected at reservoir parks fully fund management costs and partially fund capital facilities at the parks. User fees collected at open spaces partially fund management costs, thereby reducing the dollar amount subsidized by Help Preserve Open Space (HPOS) sales tax revenues.
- Increases in user fees are proposed to keep on track with rising costs (inflation) and the demands associated with the increased visitation being experienced at Larimer County parks and open spaces.
Without a user fee increase, fewer dollars will be available for management and capital replacement at reservoir park and open space properties, thereby impacting visitor experience due to reduced levels of service.
- In addition, without fee increases and a new fee at the south trailhead of Devil’s Backbone Open Space, the Department of Natural Resources' capacity to build and develop new open spaces to meet recreation demand will be greatly diminished.
- The County is seeking roughly a ten percent (10%) increase in user fees based on a combination of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood CPI increase of 6.75% since the last fee adjustment in 2019 coupled with the increase in operating and maintenance costs associated with record visitation.
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