@Gabba-Gabba-Hey

A Dad Says He Paid $235 to Get Into a National Park and Claims the Attendant Blamed the Fee on “An Order From Trump”

Updated 4 weeks ago, July 19, 2026

A family of three paid $235 to enter Everglades National Park, and the father says an attendant apologized as she rang it up, then lowered her voice and blamed the cost on the President.

He’d budgeted for the standard $35 vehicle fee; at the gate, he learned that non-residents now owe $100 a head on top of it.

The $100-per-adult charge is real, and it’s federal policy. Under an “America-first” fee structure the Department of the Interior announced in November and rolled out Jan. 1, 2026, nonresidents without an annual pass pay an extra $100 per person to enter 11 of the most-visited national parks, on top of the standard entrance fee.

Aerial view of a winding river snaking through dense green tropical forest — Winding waterways cut through the lush green canopy of a tropical wilderness — the kind of expansive, protected landscape that draws families to national parks each year. (via Unsplash)

Everglades is on that list, alongside Yellowstone, Yosemite, the Grand Canyon, Zion, Acadia, Glacier, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia & Kings Canyon, and Bryce Canyon. The policy traces back to a July 2025 executive order in which President Trump directed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to raise entrance and pass fees for nonresidents.

The father says he’d traveled with his wife and son expecting only the standard $35 vehicle fee. Both adults were charged the $100 surcharge. Their son got in free.

Posting on r/NationalPark under the username Gabba-Gabba-Hey, he described the moment this way: “At the entrance, I honestly couldn’t believe what I was hearing: $100 per person for non-residents. The security lady actually seemed embarrassed when she explained the fee to us. She basically said, ‘It’s an order from the President.'”

The math, in his words: “So, $100 for me, $100 for my wife, plus $35 for the vehicle entrance. Total: $235 just to enter a National Park.”

It followed them past the gate. After a tram tour, the guide and driver mentioned tips. “Unfortunately, Trump had already taken our last $200,” he wrote. “We literally didn’t have a single dollar in cash left to tip them.” He kept the receipt because he figured no one would believe him.

Printed receipt from Everglades National Park showing a 7-day vehicle entrance fee of $35 and two nonresident fees of $100 each, totaling $235 — A receipt from Everglades National Park shows a $235 total charge — combining a $35 seven-day vehicle entrance fee with two $100 nonresident fees.

Some commenters called the price crazy and pointed people toward cheaper state parks. Others said non-resident tourists pay more in plenty of countries, and a few asked why he hadn’t checked the fees first. Secretary Burgum has framed the surcharge as fairness: “U.S. taxpayers, who already support the National Park System, continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share.”

Everglades National Park and the National Park Service haven’t commented on the attendant’s alleged remark, and the father’s identity remains tied only to his Reddit username.

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