National Parks a Low-Cost Destination

Monday, June 19, 2006; AP

Getting there may be pricey, but people can find good deals in the national parks this summer.

Throughout most of the National Park System, visitors do not have to pay entrance fees. Only 21 of the 147 with fees raised rates this year, by an average $1 per person and $5 per car.

The system includes 390 parks, monuments, battlefields, recreation areas, historic sites and other areas.

For those who want to avoid lines and crowds, 26 of the 58 national parks had fewer than a half-million visitors last year. By comparison, the 10 busiest each attracted 2 million to 9 million visitors.

Among the less-trodden parks, 14 charge no entrance fees. Many are in Alaska, home to the continent's biggest array of glaciers and peaks above 16,000 feet. Kobuk Valley, Lake Clark, Gates of the Arctic, Katmai and Wrangell-St. Elias each drew fewer than 60,000 visitors. Kenai Fjords and Glacier Bay, popular with cruise ships, attracted a quarter-million or more.

Other less-visited national parks with no entrance fees include:

· Isle Royale in Michigan, offering timber wolves and moose.

· North Cascades in Washington state, with its glaciated and jagged terrain for technical climbs and hikes.

· Great Basin in Nevada, featuring a remnant glacier, tunnels and caves.

· Congaree in South Carolina, a swamp protecting the nation's last southern bottomland hardwood forest.

· Voyageurs in Minnesota, a wilderness for canoeing.

· Redwood in California, featuring the world's tallest trees.

· Channel Islands in California, home to sea birds and sea lions.

"If you compare it to the cost of many public attractions this year, everything from Disney World to a football or baseball game, it's still an incredibly good buy. Especially since it is free at the vast majority of parks," parks spokeswoman Elaine Sevy said.

-- Associated Press