Red Rock loop motorists to be charged

Rachael Levy

Tuesday, July 29, 1997 | 8:59 a.m.

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area next month will begin charging fees to all motor vehicles driving the scenic loop, a move that one official said will likely cost the popular recreation area about 130,000 visitors a year.

Officials anticipate enforcing the fee beginning Aug. 15.

Also, the Bureau of Land Management began collecting the same fee -- $5 for cars and $2 for motorcycles -- at the Calico Basin Red Spring Picnic Area this past Friday.

The private, nonprofit Red Rock Interpretative Association, which runs the conservation area's visitor center, will collect the fees, said Conservation Area Manager Dave Wolf. A fee booth will be built at the beginning of the loop, and visitors have the option of purchasing a $20 annual pass that allows unlimited entry.

Wolf declined to say what percentage of the fees the Interpretive Association would receive because the contract has not been finalized. Wolf added, however, that it will be "cheaper than hiring federal employees."

The fees, authorized by Congress in 1996, will be used to maintain and improve Red Rock's visitor services and supplement the conservation area's budget, which shrunk as a result of reductions in the national budget.

The fees are expected to dissuade the large number of high school students who skip school and hang out at Red Rock, but not deter sight-seeing motorists, rock climbers and hikers, Wolf said. He expected the 10 percent drop in the 1.3 million annual visitation to correct itself within the next two years.

People who hike or bicycle into Red Rock will not be charged the daily fee.