By Marek Mazurek
Indianapolis Business Journal
For The Republic
Visitors to some Indiana state parks might soon see an increase in entrance fees due to legislation aimed at helping local governments pay for park upkeep.
Some of the state’s most popular state parks, like Brown County and Turkey Run, are in rural areas where local governments say they could use some help paying for infrastructure and water quality projects.
House Bill 1204, which passed the House with bipartisan support Monday, would allow entrance fees to be increased by $1 per car at certain state parks and recreation areas. The legislation allows county governments to adopt ordinances to levy the fee for parks within their borders.
The fee would not apply to park visitors with annual passes. The money collected from the raised fees could go toward public safety departments or infrastructure related to tourism.
Rep. Dave Hall, R-Norman, said state parks attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to local communities, which stresses local infrastructure. But county governments often don’t see the tax benefits from visitors.
“When there’s a large area of state-owned property, they don’t pay property taxes,” Hall said. “When they collect sales tax, that goes toward the state. When they collect an innkeepers’ tax, that goes to promote tourism. It doesn’t help fund those critical needs.”
The amount of money counties collect would depend on the number of visitors coming into the park. Department of Natural Resources data from the 2024 fiscal year shows Indiana Dunes State Park in Porter County was the most-visited park in the state with just shy of 2 million visitors.
Fort Harrison State Park (Marion County), Brown County State Park (Brown County) and Monroe Lake (Monroe County) all saw over 1 million visitors, though how many of those were annual pass-holders who would be exempt from the additional fee is unclear.
In Parke County, Turkey Run and Raccoon Lake combined for just under 1.5 million visitors. In testimony before the House Natural Resources Committee on Jan. 14, Parke County Council President Roy Wrightsman said the county’s fire department is 10 miles from both parks, so a trio of volunteer fire departments handle the majority of calls to those areas. Converting those visitors into extra dollars would go toward funding those volunteer units and the Parke County Sheriff’s Department, Wrightsman said.
“It only seems fair and rational that those using these services should shoulder some of the burden,” Wrightsman said. “We believe we should provide some financial support to these first-responding volunteer fire departments that shoulder much of the burden of responding to these state assets in our county.”
Brown County officials echo similar concerns as the county is home to Brown County State Park, Yellowwood State Forest and Crooked Creek State Recreation Area. The state park alone draws an estimated 1.5 million annual visitors, but Brown County Council member Scott Rudd said that comes with a cost to public safety budgets.
“Our state park is an incredible asset, but it comes with real public safety responsibilities,” Rudd said in a statement to IBJ. “This bill recognizes that reality and gives counties like Brown County more support to emergency services without placing additional strain on local taxpayers.”
This is the second year Hall has brought language to increase park entrance fees. Last session, the measure passed the House, but died in the Senate Appropriations Committee. After passing the House with only a handful of dissenting votes, this year’s bill is set for a hearing in the Senate Natural Resources Committee on Monday.
Environmental groups including the Indiana Wildlife and the Indiana Forest Alliance are in favor, saying even indirect funding for infrastructure near state parks is worthwhile.
David Van Gilder, senior policy and legal director with the Hoosier Environmental Council, said his organization doesn’t feel strongly about the bill given it wouldn’t go directly to the parks. He said the council has proposed language allowing the DNR to establish or increase fees to use hunting or fishing areas on state land.
“The idea is people who use these state lands should contribute to their support over and above their taxes,” Van Gilder said.
The DNR said in committee that it opposes the bill, noting conservation officers also handle many public safety calls at state parks. A DNR spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
