NM State park annual camp pass poss eliminated

[justanothermaroon]

I've had the annual camping pass for years and was intending to make the NM state park system my primary camp when I retire in a couple of years. But now they're considering getting rid of it. It was nice to arrive, fill up the water tank, park near water, then dump my tanks when I leave. And not have to travel far to get to the next park. Oh, well- on to Plan B.

Decision to be made thus summer. https://www.ktsm.com/news/nm-state-park-fees-could-be-going-up-for-out-of-state-residents/

 

[user 22017]

Thanks for sharing, justanothermaroon.

Excerpt:

Under the recommendations set forth under the study, day-use fees would be eliminated for New Mexico residents and out-of-state residents would see their day-use fee increase from $5 per vehicle to $10.

Annual day-use and camping passes would also be eliminated under the proposal.

Also under the proposal, primitive camping would increase from $8 per vehicle to $20 per vehicle. Developed camping would increase from $10 per vehicle to $20 per vehicle.

Utility hookups for RVs would increase from $4 per day to $10 per day under the proposal.

“The State Park’s current fees, which are set by rule, have not been updated in decades and have not kept pace with inflation,” according to a news release sent out by the State of New Mexico.

 

[Tony's Dream]

As a traveler, the state parks fees are always a pain in my side. I still don't see the logic in why out of state people have to pay more. Someone within the state pays less but uses the park more. Some say its about the instate people paying for the parks through taxes, thus they pay less. To me, it should be like the gas tax. Everyone pays the same for gas and pays the taxes for maintaining the roads. Those that use it more pay more.

 

[tx2sturgis]

That's gonna be a bummer.

The ACP (annual camping permit) was a really good deal, even for out of state residents.

The benefit of having the cheaper rates all this time was to encourage people to use those parks, and along the way, dropping some money in the hands of local merchants (groceries, gas etc) which fed tax money into the state.

My crystal ball (which does occasionally mis-fire!) predicts the overall net income from out-of-state residents will actually drop if the new rates go into effect, because doubling the rates will probably reduce the attendance. Or so it seems to me.

 

[mpruet]

As a traveler, the state parks fees are always a pain in my side. I still don't see the logic in why out of state people have to pay more. Someone within the state pays less but uses the park more. Some say its about the instate people paying for the parks through taxes, thus they pay less. To me, it should be like the gas tax. Everyone pays the same for gas and pays the taxes for maintaining the roads. Those that use it more pay more.

Gas taxes are generally earmarked for road maintenance not parks.

 

[maki2]

doubling the rates might have the effect of negating overcrowding by nonresidents and therefore an increase of use by local residents who have a better chance of getting a campsite. I am not taking a pro or against position on the possible changes. I am just taking another look at predicting a potential benefit for NM State residents. It is all a balancing act and until a change is tried it is theoretical postulation of results rather than factual data with numbers.

 

[justanothermaroon]

The report states that the non-resident pass should be something like $450, based on inflation since 1998 when the rates were implemented. I would be glad to pay 500-800 but after reading the pdf of their thinking, it looks like the annual passes are going to be gone. They project that raising camping fees (inc. dispersed camping) to $20 a day will simply double revenue and not have any effect on demand.

They also looked at non-res pass holders in the SW quarter of the state and found a whopping 9 pass holders used the parks for over 3 months a year. Doesn't sound like too big of a problem.

I'll miss staying by the lake at Las Vegas NM.

 

[Tony's Dream]

Gas taxes are generally earmarked for road maintenance not parks.

I agree. What I was trying to say is that the more gas you buy, the more you pay to maintain the roads. So if you live in a state and use the state parks often, you should pay more than the person just passing through. That is not the case with annual fees because the person who lives there pays less and uses the parks more.

 

[Happy Camper]

While this is a bummer, I agree with the premise that things should be more affordable for residents.

My youngest daughter is looking at colleges for the upcoming school year. The in state rates for the UC and Cal State colleges are significantly less. Students come from around the world to attend these schools. And they pay a premium to do so.

With the passes, my first thought was that they might not want to pay for the extra ranger coverage without getting more undone from non local campers.

 

[LoveCareThinkDo]

I tried out the NM State Park annual pass thing a few years ago. Just before I (temporarily) went back to sticks & bricks. I hated it.

There is a reason why that was so cheap: Almost all of their state parks are terrible and worn out. The places with water have almost no water anymore, or the water levels are so low you can now camp on spots that used to be 20-40 feet under water. Even at the original water levels, they would have just looked like a giant hole in the desert that just happens to have water in it. The showers are almost all broken or barely functioning. Many of them have push buttons that you have to push every thirty seconds to keep the warm(ish) water flowing. The trees are all dead, and the tables and stuff are all in disrepair.

One had a scorpion and a giant centipede trapped in a light fixture chasing each other back and forth like some never ending duel to the death. They were there the whole time I was at that park. I got video, but I don't feel like digging it out right now.

Did I go to and survey EVERY campground? Of course not. But I went to a bunch of them. All were equally worn down.

But, the worst part is that the camping isn't really free after you pay the annual fee. You still have to pay a $12 (probably more now) fee to register for each two-week (maximum) stay. So, for a year of camping you have to pay for the annual pass (I forget how much that was) PLUS $12 × 52 ÷ 2 = $312. That more than doubled the cost of camping there. Oh, and if you want to cancel a reservation, they want to charge you a fee that would be about half of what you would have paid if you didn't have the annual pass. So you would end up paying more if you try to cancel. It's insane.

Is it still cheap? Yes. But they make no mention of that, at all, until after you have bought the annual pass and go to reserve a campsite. That's false advertising, in my book. For some poor person who spent their "last dime" on the annual pass, that could be devastating.

Also, a lot of the campgrounds have limited seasons, based on average weather from 20 years ago. So, you will see campgrounds listed as closed for the winter, when the temperature there is now in the 50s. Again, you don't really see that info until you go to reserve a site.

 

[user 22017]

I tried out the NM State Park annual pass thing a few years ago. Just before I (temporarily) went back to sticks & bricks. I hated it.

There is a reason why that was so cheap: Almost all of their state parks are terrible and worn out. <snip>

Also, a lot of the campgrounds have limited seasons, based on average weather from 20 years ago. So, you will see campgrounds listed as closed for the winter, when the temperature there is now in the 50s. Again, you don't really see that info until you go to reserve a site.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Overall I have had good experiences at all the NM state parks I have been to except for one: Brantley SP near Carlsbad. Not much to do there, and the camp host, when I visited, was a total jerk. I think he was on some kind of power trip. Oh well, stuff like that can happen anywhere.

The ones I enjoyed and had facilities that were in good (to very good) shape included:

Bottomless Lake SP near Roswell
Conchas Lake SP near Tucumcari
Eaglenest Lake SP near Angelfire
Elephant Butte SP near Truth or Consequences
Oasis SP near Portales
Sumner Lake SP near Fort Sumner
Storrie Lake SP near Las Vegas

Honorable Mention: Bosque Redondo Park near Fort Sumner (Not a state park but it really should be!)

Not to mention all the dispersed camping available in all the national forest lands in NM.

There are many more that I have not stayed in...yet....or can't remember!

 

[DLTooley]

Most likely just an increase in fees, hopefully it will get spent on improvements and maintenance.

 

[Morgana]

To TX's list I'll add Rockhound, City of Rocks, Oliver Lee, Leasburg Dam (haven't overnighted but have seen the facilities and they look fine), and Pancho Villa (passed by and it looks fine from the road anyway). Staff have ranged from OK to very good.
That's not to say you can't hit a bad park or a bad time, and again I've mostly seen the facilities and staff that a day tripper would see ... but the idea that NM state parks are generally shabby and worn down just doesn't match with anything I've seen. In places like Rockhound I see plenty of people in snazzy big rigs looking quite contented. I've lived in four NM cities over 1990-2024 and I've never heard anyone say "oh, our state parks are so worn down it's a scandal."

 

[Morgana]

According to this article
https://www.koat.com/article/new-me...e park fees,percent of their operation budget.
they haven't raised their rates in 26 years, they rely 75% on passes and entry fees for operating expenses, and there are only four states that even having annual camping passes (so, not having one is not unusual).
There's a link in the article where you can see the study, or a brief summary if you prefer, and the email and snail-mail addresses for submitting a comment (closing date for comments is in late March).

 

[rvwandering]

I removed the comments discussing a poorly worded post. Please stay on topic.