PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- Changes are starting in mid-October to Oregon State Park's camping, parking and reservation fees and continuing through July 2025.

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department says the increases in fees are a result of the state parks system working "to keep pace with the rising cost of utilities, operations and maintenance" as it continues to experience record visits amid the ongoing impact of inflation.

“We know that raising fees by any amount can be challenging for visitors, and we don’t make this decision lightly. We try to keep costs and fees as low as possible to minimize the impact while still fulfilling our commitment to stewardship and recreation,” OPRD Director Lisa Sumption said in a statement.

When do the changes in fees start?

The first round of fee increases is scheduled to start Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, which is when OPRD will raise base camping fees for all camping reservations for 2025 for the first time since 2017.

The second round of fee increases will start Jan. 1, 2025, which will see a rise in reservation fees and parking permit fees for the parks that charge for day-use parking. However, OPRD says the annual parking permit and the two-year parking permit fees are staying the same.

The third round of fee increases will take effect on July 1, 2025, which will see a rise in surcharges for out-of-state campers along with new camping rate ranges replacing the existing ones.

How much are the fees increasing?

Here's a look at how much the fees are increasing by Oct. 15:

• $2 increase for miscellaneous sites, including teepees, meeting halls and other facilities
• $3 increase for tent sites, including horse tent sites, horse group sites, group tents, and primitive sites, which includes overflow, fly-in and walk-to sites
• $4 increase for RV sites, including full hookup, electrical, horse RV and group RV sites
• $5 increase for cabins and yurts, including rustic, mini, totem and deluxe sites

Officials at OPRD say seasonal rate increases, which were adopted in 2020, will be added to the new base rates, and those rates are as follows: $2 more for tent sites; $3 more for RV sites; $5 more for cabins and yurts.

The Jan. 1, 2025 fee increases are as follows:

• Reservation fees will increase from $8 to $10 per site
• Daily parking permit fees will increase from $5 to $10 at the 25 Oregon State Parks that require a fee for day-use parking

The July 1, 2025 fee increases are for the following items:

• The 25% out-of-state surcharge for RV campsites is now applying to all site types for all out-of-state campers
• Camping rate ranges, which set the lowest and highest fees that Oregon Parks and Recreation Department can charge over time, will change.

A list of current rates is here, while the full list of current rates, current ranges and new ranges starting July 1, 2025 can be found here.

What's next?

The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is also opening up public comment next month on a proposal that will give OPRD's director "more flexibility" on decisions regarding which Oregon State Parks will have day-use parking and would require day-use parking permits at all parks "unless otherwise noted," according to ORPD.

However, OPRD added, "There are no plans to charge at all parks, and OPRD would consider any changes carefully."