No more fees for Mirror Lake or AF
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The Forest Service finally got reeled in after way too many lawsuits in other states: |
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Does anyone know the definitive word on using the Interagency pass at Mill Creek. The kid at the booth claimed it was county run and managed and that the Forest Service pass held no sway there. |
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The kiosk kid is correct about them not accepting the "America the Beautiful" Interagency Pass In Millcreek Canyon. The reasoning/excuse is that it is some sort of joint management agreement between Salt Lake County and Wasatch National Forest, rather than strictly a Forest Service program. I am up there all the time and it sure looks like the Forest Service is doing all the work; not sure what role the County actually plays. I have fussed at them for years about not taking the Interagency pass and having to buy an additional pass, but apparently they just do not care about my cheap ass whining. Maybe with this new Forest Service attitude about fee areas things will eventually change in Millcreek. I am all for supporting the National Forests and Parks, and always get the annual Interagency Pass, but for many of these fee area programs more of the money goes to collecting and administering the fees than actually goes to useful programs. |
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Yeah that was the vibe I was getting as well. Thanks for info. |
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$6 to get in AF today as climbers (they asked) and a pamphlet I didn't have time to read explaining the new system... Looked like some areas of the canyon will still require paying a fee which is odd since all you'd have to do is tell the booth person you're heading somewhere else. |
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Interesting, where were you parking? The FS is probably going to be playing some games about being in a developed vs undeveloped area. |
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Between the pullouts for Hell and Cannabis. They asked where we were going and we said climbing somewhere up there. A frantic scramble for lost quarters and other petty change ensued and we barely rounded up the $6... |
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Don't be too quick to complain about fees to use the canyons around SLC. I work for the USFS and know just how hard the people in Mill Creek work to keep the place looking good. |
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In the case of Millcreek I'll agree. It was a dump. |
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Yeah, I paid $6 too, not realizing I had a National Park pass. don't know if they would have accepted it though. |
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bsmoot wrote:Yeah, I paid $6 too, not realizing I had a National Park pass.noob. |
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I've always paid for the yearly pass in Millcreek. Why? Because I use the canyon a lot. I bike, I run my dog, I hike, I climb, I camp in that canyon. My son has gone there all his life from a toddler to now a 21 year old man. The roads are maintained, the areas are clean (but over used) and it's a safe place for my wife to go on her own with the dog. AF wasn't a fee area when I arrived in SLC in 90 so it's nice to see it going back to that somewhat. Mirror Lake Hwy is a different animal. I'd like to see the Ed Abbey approach used there; park at the gate and get in on human power or a horse. Ban all motorized travel. It would then be a totally different place. But that's just an old dudes dreaming. The softer society get the more the land will be abused. |
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bsmoot wrote:Yeah, I paid $6 too, not realizing I had a National Park pass. don't know if they would have accepted it though.They do accept the Interagency Pass in AF, Uintas, and Maple, as well as hundreds of other locations around the country. Arthur's original question was not about having to pay a fee in Millcreek, but why they didn't accept the Interagency Pass there, like other FS locations do. I always gladly buy the annual Interagency Pass; it just seems to me that the FS is double-dipping to require an additional pass at that one location. |
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That was indeed my feeling, that the USFS was double dipping. I too have owned an Interagecny pass for many years now regardless of how much I was using it. I think I would even be ok with the interagency pass costing a little more (and it has gone up over the years) but making it a truly unlimited Federal Lands pass. On principal I don't think there should be a seperate fee for Mill Creek for what the USFS lists as a Standard Amenity (access). I have no problem paying a la carte for the extras like a camp site or reserving a picnic area but just to head into the canyon seems like gouging. Especially since I don't think they charge if you walk in or ride in on your bike. I suppose I can run Grandeur from the west in protest. Maybe I should check with the Treasury or Interior if they will discount my pass to cover the Mill Creek exclusion. |
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Isn't Mill Creek Canyon a state run park as far as the roads and structures are concerned? |
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No, Mill Creek is not a state park. It is mostly Forest Service land, although it is located in Salt Lake County and I believe there is some county land ownership. All the signage and facilities are standard US Forest Service, all the people working up there are driving Forest Service trucks and wearing Forest Service uniforms, and the cabin owners up there have long term leases with the US Forest Service. On the Wasatch National Forest web site it sure seems like the Forest Service considers Mill Creek Canyon to be an area that they are responsible for. That is why some of us are wondering why they do not accept the Interagency Pass. |
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Garret Nuzzo-Jones wrote:Don't be too quick to complain about fees to use the canyons around SLC...no shit. +1 on that comment. yeah, take a look at my native home state (and its neighbor to the south) and all the out-of-control extraneous charges one incurs when recreating on federal and state lands up in Washington State: Interagency Pass, Northwest Forest Pass, Discover Pass, Monument Pass (Mt. St. Helens), Sno-Park Seasonal Permit, Special Groomed Trail Permit, Washington & Oregon Recreation Pass, Oregon Pacific Coast Pass, Weyerhaeuser Recreation Pass (required to access some remote wilderness areas), and on and on and on..... I/family never had to pay to recreate in that state (other than entrance and climbing permit for MRNP) for the first 25 years of my life. and now after a decade-plus of double/triple taxation, the facilities, services, and security(?), are the same, if not worse in some areas, from what i remember 20 years ago. if you dont have family/friends who are residents and in possession of the variety of passes, it becomes nearly pointless for a shoestring traveller to recreate in that state. |
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Arthur wrote:That was indeed my feeling, that the USFS was double dipping. I too have owned an Interagecny pass for many years now regardless of how much I was using it. I think I would even be ok with the interagency pass costing a little more (and it has gone up over the years) but making it a truly unlimited Federal Lands pass. On principal I don't think there should be a seperate fee for Mill Creek for what the USFS lists as a Standard Amenity (access). I have no problem paying a la carte for the extras like a camp site or reserving a picnic area but just to head into the canyon seems like gouging.If you're using the Grandeur Peak trail in Mill Creek Canyon you are benefiting from the fee dollars! The Mill Creek crew maintains picnic areas but they also do a significant amount of trail work that would not be able to be done by the very small and overworked trails crew that works out of the Salt Lake Ranger District. If you noticed deadfall cut out, water bars cleaned and portions of the upper trail brushed out then you will have seen their work. |
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I don't mind paying for access in popular climbing areas, where some improvement has been done by the agency collecting the money. I think it's a mistake to remove the fee for traveling the loop. The money could go to the roadwork and seasonal cleanup that everyone takes advantage of. |
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Okay folks time to pay the piper and write some comments otherwise you might continue to pay the FS: |
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I live in cedar hills right next to AFC and take my young family up the canyon at least twice a week to BBQ, climb, let me boys play in the river, ect. I have no problem paying for the annual pass (I think it's $45 for AFC and $80 for the national pass). That money is used to help maintain and keep the area clean. |