BRYCE – Campers who plan to visit Bryce Canyon National Park in 2024 will notice a change to the campground reservation system and fee structure.
These changes are designed to improve both the visitor planning experience and campground operations, according to a news release from the National Park Service.
“With these changes, the park sought to balance the peace of mind of advance reservations and the flexibility of shorter reservation windows,” Park Superintendent Jim Ireland said in the news release.“And, whether visitors choose to book their campsite six months, two weeks or two hours in advance, their reservation fee dollars directly support future improvements to these popular campgrounds.”
Sunset Campground peak-season reservations will be available on recreation.gov up to 14 days in advance. The group site remains available one year in advance. All developed campsites cost $30 per night. Previously RV sites were $30 and tent sites were $20.
In August 2023, the park proposed to offer visitors a more predictable and standardized planning experience by transitioning Sunset Campground to the same six-month online reservation system that is currently in use for North Campground.
In response to public comments requesting a shorter reservation window, the park will transition Sunset Campground to a 14-day reservation window from May 18-Oct. 14. Sites will first become available to reserve on May 4, 2024. Any unreserved sites will still be available for visitors to reserve the same day using recreation.gov.
Sunset Campground will continue to provide weather-dependent first-come, first-served camping from April 15-May 17 and Oct. 15-31. The Group Site will remain on a one-year reservation window. Sunset Campground will remain closed for the winter from Nov. 1-April 14.
Campsite reservation fee
The park also proposed in August to move all campsite reservations to a flat fee of $30 per night. This proposal was based on a required comparability study between park and local campground fees, the news release said. The new fee would also better reflect existing campsite amenities within the park. Public comments were generally in support of this change.
Since 2015, RV sites have cost $30 per night while tent sites cost $20 per night. The park determined that the lack of RV hook-ups leaves no appreciable difference between these site types and that a flat fee comparable to those of local campgrounds should be established.
The park will implement the flat $30 fee structure for all campsite reservations on Dec. 28.. Senior Pass and Access Pass holders will continue to receive a 50% discount on all campsite reservation fees.
Click here for additional information about camping at Bryce Canyon National Park or send an e-mail to [email protected].