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Fees May Go Up At Maricopa County Parks

Cave Creek Regional Park
Maricopa County Parks and Recreation
/
handout | agency

Fees may soon be going up at regional parks across Maricopa County, the first increases in four years.

Day use and entry fees at the 11 Phoenix area parks would not be affected by the proposed hikes, but annual passes and services like camping and facility rentals would. Aimee Upton is a spokeswoman for Maricopa County Parks and Recreation. She said the increases are needed to keep the parks mostly self-sufficient. Upton explained that regional parks are funded almost entirely by user and concession fees and not taxpayer dollars.

“We’re not really trying to increase operations,” Upton said. “We’re basically trying to just stay where we are now, but we also, at the same time, we’re always looking to improve amenities, and we have repair needs.”

Upton added that the Parks Commission has approved the fee increases with hardly any changes. The proposal now moves on to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors. The new prices could take effect as early as April. 

Stina Sieg was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2013 to 2018.