SALEM — The Oregon Parks and Recreation Department has announced rate hikes for camping, parking and reservation fees. This includes a doubling of the daily parking fee at around two dozen state parks.

The agency said the increases are necessary to keep pace with the rising cost of utilities, operations and maintenance. Utility costs, for example, are up 28% over the past four years, the agency said. Depending on the fee, the last increase was between seven and 15 years ago for base fees.

Campers will see rates increase by $2 to $5 depending on the type of campsite. The fee hikes apply to campsite reservations in 2025, (with bookings made on or after Oct. 15). Reservation fees for sites will increase from $8 to $10 — these apply to all online reservations except same-day online reservations, which do not have a fee.

Daily parking permits will increase from $5 to $10 on Jan. 1 at the 25 parks that charge a fee for day-use parking. Parking fees were last increased in 2009. The annual parking permit and the two-year permit fees remain the same at $30 for the annual permit and $50 for the two-year permit.

The day-use fees are similar to Washington and California, where parking permits cost $10. California state parks charge even more, $20, on weekends in summer. In Idaho, fees for single-day parking range from $7 to $14.

Impacted parks include Tumalo, Smith Rock and Cove Palisades state parks. La Pine State Park is not affected because it does not have a parking fee.

Starting July 1, the agency will expand the 25% out-of-state surcharge for RV campsites to all site types.

Around half of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department funding comes from lottery funds. Around 15% comes from recreational vehicle license plate fees, and about 35% comes from park fees. Taxes do not fund the department.