Discussions underway on VNP reservations, fees

Discussions will include charging for campsite use by night to ensure future maintenance and upkeep of the sites.

A plan for interior campsites and boats on the Kabetogama Peninsula will also be finalized based on comments received over the last few years. Day-Use sites will not be included in these discussions. 

“We believe we have come up with the best formula to maintain the sites while passing on a low cost to the user. Now it is time to discuss it with park neighbors and users and get their opinion of whether we should implement it or not,” said Voyageurs National Park Superintendent Mike Ward. “We realize that when we engage our users in important decisions such as this we make better decisions.”

Park officials will be visiting communities, organizations and agencies over the next month to discuss the proposed actions.

A series of public meetings are planned at park headquarters, 360 Highway 11 East, on the following dates: Sept. 10, Sept. 13, Sept. 18 and Sept. 20. All four meetings are scheduled for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Park officials have created a phone number — 218-283-6708 — for members of the public to call to express concerns or support for the reservations and costs for campsites.

Discussions about implementing a reservation system began prior to 2010 when the park first proposed to charge fees and implement a reservation system for campsites and boats on the interior lakes, and modifying tour boat fees.

Park officials began the discussions when the new 49-passenger tour boat required a new fee structure to operate. The public agreed with the boat tour fees and implementation has occurred for the third year without complaint. 

Concerns for the potential day-use of interior boats on the Kabetogama Peninsula caused the park to work with the reservation company to ensure day and overnight use could be reserved for these boats at the same fee currently being charged. The public did not support the idea of an entrance fee, boat, or snowmobile sticker so that option has been dropped. 

Many people who live in communities adjacent to the park told park officials that it should charge for sites and offer reservations in order to bring new users to the area. According to park officials and gateway community members, many new visitors to the park will not consider camping in Voyageurs without a reservation system, especially because it is completely a boat-in park. All sites are now first-come, first-served and will remain so if not reserved by midnight the night before for that individual day. 

Ward said the plan started as a two-year process, with the first year focused on tour boats and boats and campsites on the interior lakes, and the second year on campsites on the larger lakes as well as development of some form of entrance fee.

“After the first year, we learned two things: No. 1, nobody wanted the boat sticker or snowmobile sticker (as an entrance fee designation), so we dropped that. We didn’t intend to talk about that in the first year, but folks asked is that all we’ll do and we said no, we want to talk about all these things with you.”

Because people did not want boats on the interior lakes tied to a campsite, the last year was spent working with the reservation company so people have the choice to reserve a boat for a day or for three days and have a campsite or not have a campsite, said Ward. That discussion was not finished last year.

Now, he said the reservation company has developed a system to accomplish that.

This third year is the time to talk about reservations for all campsites, said Ward.

“This is the last time we’ll go out and talk to everybody and get everybody’s opinions,” he said. “After that, depending on what everyone says, we’ll go to the park service and ask them to implement the system in the 2013 season.”

Ward said the multi-step process allows the park only to implement what the public has agreed upon and the director of the park service has agreed upon.

Support for the reservation system has been voiced by the Kabetogama Lake Association. “This year, the message I got was loud and clear — just do it,” said Ward.

The process extended longer than anticipated to ensure the reservation system was capable of handling the unique offerings of VNP, said Ward.

Ward said the reservation system will allow campers to create an itinerary and move from site-to-site, which he said about 30 to 40 percent of park visitors desire. The reservation system will also allow for people to reserve one campsite for their entire stay.

“We’re working with the reservation system so that the different ways people want to use the park are available to them,” said Ward.

Number of 

reservation 

opportunities 

in VNP

17 — Interior campsites

15  — Boil boats (boats on interior lakes)

2 — Group sites, 30 people (already on the reservation system)

24 — Large campsites, 16 people

106 — Small campsites, 9 people

93 — Houseboat sites