Fee hikes hit Colville National Forest campgrounds

Campers on the Colville National Forest are paying more money for a place to rest their heads this summer thanks to a suite of fee increases that forest officials say were long overdue.

The U.S. Forest Service increased fees at 10 campgrounds and is charging for the first time at five others across the northeast Washington forest this summer, according to a spreadsheet provided by the agency. Nightly rental fees also rose at the Snow Peak Cabin on the Kettle Crest and the Swan Lake Group Site.

The fee increases were approved last fall by the forest's Resource Advisory Council and went into effect this year, said Jake Todd, a spokesman for the Colville forest. It's the first time fees have been increased since 1988.

The decision locked in another round of fee increases for 2028 and another increase in 2030 for two of the campgrounds. It also advanced plans for bringing two cabins into the Forest Service's reservation system in 2027 - the Salmo Lookout and the Frater Lake cabin.

Todd said money raised by the fees will stay within the Colville's recreation program and go toward maintaining and improving the sites.

Adam Gebauer, the public lands policy director for the Lands Council, is a member of the Colville's Resource Advisory Council. He said in an email that more people are using the forest, and that raising fees will help the Forest Service keep up with maintenance needs.

"These fees will help manage the impacts from increased use and keep campgrounds and trailheads open and accessible to the public," Gebauer said.

New fees were approved for Trout Lake, Crescent Lake, Davis Lake and Little Twin Lakes campgrounds, but they're not being charged yet. Todd said cash collection tubes haven't been installed yet, meaning the agency has no way to collect the fees.

Todd could not say when the tubes would be installed. Once they are, campsites at each of those campgrounds will cost $8.

Big Meadow Lake Campground is the other site where fees are being charged for the first time. A fee tube and a host are in place there, and campsites cost $10 a night.

Nightly rates at Deer Creek Forest Campground went from $5 to $8. Fees rose from either $6 or $8 to $10 a night at the following campgrounds: Canyon Creek, Ferry Lake, Lake Ellen West, Lake Ellen East, Long Lake, Sherman Overlook, Pierre Lake and Swan Lake.

In 2028, the sites that now cost $8 will cost $10 per night, and the ones that cost $10 per night will go to $15. Pierre Lake and Swan Lake campgrounds are scheduled to go to $20 a night in 2030.

The Swan Lake group site went from $35 to $55. Nightly rental fees at the Snow Peak Cabin on the Kettle Crest went from $30 to $55.

Prices for the cabin and the group site are set to increase to $75 per night in 2028.

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