It might have to do with the fact that our campgrounds are kept really well compared to the ones in other states. Also, the ones on the cape are usually more expensive due to them being extremely popular

Sounds familiar.

To keep outsiders out. They want the sites to be cheap for residents at prices subsidized by outsiders. Same with university tuition

Rhode Island charges 2x for out of staters (I am a MA resident who lives close to RI camps) What do you think is an appropriate “slightly higher rate”? Not trying to be antagonistic seriously what are you thinking would work? Would 2x like RI be ok?

But this is tourism money. The state doesn't want tourism dollars to come in?

Tourists spend whatever they want, and the state doesn't care about Tourists that don't go to Boston. Prices need to be low for Bostonians who want to go camping.

Remember, 2/3rds of all votes in MA come from the Boston Metro. Everything the state does is in service of Bostonians. Worcester, WMA, and the entire world only matter when Boston can't agree

I doubt it has anything to do with how well the campgrounds are kept. Let's say New Hampshire were to triple the prices for non-residents at their state parks. Everyone in Mass would cry bloody murder about it.

Edit- downvote all you want my friends, you know it's true.

I think 2x is a little bit high as well. I think an extra $5 or $10 per night would be more appropriate.

Nah, Baxter State park in Maine only has entry fees for out of state residents and is free for residents so technically infinitely higher. I don't think people would flip out since you don't really hear anyone flip out about Baxter.

Despite tourism not being our main economy, MA has more total tourist visiting than either NH or ME each year. They don't really need to lure out of state folks into the campgrounds for the economy.

Well. I’m on your side. It’s not going to change but I’m in agreement with you. Fishing licenses are the same as I recall (haven’t bought one in years but CT wanted some huge amount of extra money for me as a MA resident and I live like 1 mile from the border)

To keep the Frenchies and RI rockets out.

People aren't flipping out about 1 park in the deep backwoods of Maine and so you think people wouldn't be upset about the whole state of NH tripling the camping rates? Hmm ok.

1. We have a traffic problem especially in places like the cape and it gets exponentially higher in the summer for almost everyone, making everything nearly inaccessible for residents as is, residents in MA are forced to vacation in the cape or other popular summer spots in the winter or not at all because of the burden
2. Because residents of the state who pay taxes for those parks and areas deserve a little reprieve (if you think the same of where your taxes go, vote in your own state)
3. Because MA has a high cost of living in general, so if we had to pay tourists prices, either most wouldn’t go, or it wouldn’t really make a difference to us
4. Because MA is forward thinking and believes that even it’s poorest citizens should be able to engage with its own landmarks before out of staters take it away from them.
5. Because fuck em’

Because with a lot of out of state visitors they incur maintenance and staff expenses that State and/or town residents have already paid for through taxes.

This

Money grab

My guess would be because we have higher taxes here, which subsidize it for our residents.

I feel like I noticed this at Salisbury Beach during COVID, so maybe it’s a remnant of COVID?

It's the terminus of the AT and a pretty important state park for out of staters because of that, but ultimately it's just an example where no one is really complaining even about that park specifically.

Local and out of state/town differential rates can be found in a lot of things beyond camping sites. If your issue is the exact differential in this case rather than the concept than what is your ideal ratio?

We partially pay for the state parks through our tax dollars. out of state residents do not.

Do you know how hard it is to get a site at the good state campgrounds? Oh my fucking god. It's a NIGHTMARE. We have to have 7 people on 7 computers trying exactly at 8 am 6 months before we want the site (when the campsite goes live), and MAYBE one of us will get a site before they all get sold out. Its insane.

AND THEN. AND THEN.

When we get there that summer half the sites are empty. People rent out for the week and only come for the weekends. Or they book it 6 months out but they want to keep it flexible so they later cancel when they make better plans or figure out what they're doing. Cause camping is still cheaper than everything else. In state or out of state. It makes booking and planning ahead for the summer SO STUPID for those of who know we want to be there.

I've been camping at Nickerson State Park in Brewster every single summer for 35 years now. Its gotten fucking INFURIATING to have to fight to book a site - compromise on a site we don't really want but we'll take what we can get - and then get there for 2 weeks and have no one around you. The ideal perfect site be completely empty but booked by someone who never showed up.

So yeah. Raise the price for out of state people if helps stop this bullshit from happening.

so, MA use to have 'camp hosts'. Someone would camp for free and in return they would be responsible for cleaning the nearby bathroom everyday. It means some bathrooms were cleaner than others, but it worked and someone camped for free.

During covid they stopped using hosts. Things went shitballs for 2 years. for one, available campsites got cut in half, and for two they hired outside cleaners to clean all the bathrooms.

Since then, while all the sites have opened back up, they havent gone back to using host campers. they are continuing to have cleaners clean the facilities.

As far as I'm aware the other states are still using host campers.

>We partially pay for the state parks through our tax dollars. out of state residents do not.
>
>Do you know how hard it is to get a site at the good state campgrounds?

Quoted for truth.

Yeah, state park camping fees are a HUGE revenue source.

/s

Right, so we'd prefer you stay in hotels and eat in restaurants.

Last spring NH had to lock the gates at one state park after people from Lowell and Lawrence trashed the place.

You just called Baxter "one park in the deep backwoods of Maine"

Take the L and move on dude.

This is frustrating. If there a refund for cancelling a reservation? If the site is paid for and unused, is it really different than if it is paid for and used?

The problem is when the door is reserved and then cancelled without penalty.

Because they can. Simple as that. MA has no shortage of tourists. People complain about crowds in other states; well, MA can get pretty gosh darn crowded May-October.

Part of our fee as MA residents is paid by our taxes. Ypu dont pay MA taxes, so you should pay more. I would expect to pay more if I went to a campground out of state.

As would I. I'm not upset about paying more per se. I'm upset that Mass charges about 3X more for out of state residents. I think it's a little bit crazy that so many MA residents enjoy the state park systems of other nearby states but then turn around and charge crazy prices for others to go there.

Do you know how hard it is for New Hampshire residents to find campsites out our popular state parks in the mountains? They're always filled with people from MA. And yet we don't charge you 3X what it costs us.

Is that why they do it? I never actually knew the reason

"One park in the deep backwoods of Maine" to describe one of the most amazing pieces of perserved lands we've got hurt my soul lol

He's gonna call Cape Cod National Seashore "just a small beach" next. I guarantee it.

Wouldnt say MA doesnt want it, but MA doesnt rely on it as much as say, Maine.

The state uses reserve America, the federal camps site. A lot of the problems stem from the rules of reserve America.

They don't charge fees or penalties. It's the worst site ever. I wish the campgrounds stopped using them.

I would pay money for the whole state of New Hampshire to pack up and move to Utah.

I think the majority of your neighbors in Mass disagree. Folks from Mass can't seem to get out of your state fast enough every Friday afternoon.

That's fine though, we just need a $50 toll on 93 coming into NH and we can call it even.

Remember when you guys created a crazy libertarian community that drowned in trash and got attacked by bears?

Or when you were asked with coming up with your most distinguishing feature as a State to put on the New Hampshire quarter, and all you could come up with a rock that kind of looked like a face from just the right angle. And then it promptly collapsed! That was amazing.

maybe if you had a sales tax you could afford more state park amenities

I agree. I like the reservation system in general. First come, first served has it's merits, but can also be anxiety inducing to plan around. I feel like the reservation should be non-refundable to prevent space saving. It is very frustrating to arrive at a campground and find sites empty but reserved.

I've used a reserved site for a single night when rolling in late on a Friday night. It's like people reserve Friday for an arrival on Saturday. I don't do it out of habit, but when it's 10 PM and it's empty and I plan to be out by sunrise, I don't see the issue.

I will say, I have booked an extra day on the back end (a Monday) because being packed up and out of a site by 11am is ROUGH. especially if you've been there for 2 weeks. Having the full Sunday to clear up and get out is ideal, and sometimes I'm willing to pay for the extra night for that. I do check out Sunday, so the site opens up if someone shows up wanting it for the nite. But I need more time than 11am.

Which ones aren't kept as well? Genuinely curious. I've stayed at some out of state ones in the past and all have been on par with our own.

It is now 4 months before and 9am, but your point remains.

I don't think anyone begrudges you doing that.

We get a bad rep for that. We're almost smack dab in the middle for tax burdens.

Rhode island and Connecticut. Vermont is kinda a mixed bag

Ahh, good to know. NY around Lake George has been good for us, as has the appalachian trail locations, and then basically any site headed across the country to the west coast, since there's a lot of room out there.

Yeah, I actually agree with both those things being stupid and crazy. Seriously though, who the fuck cares about a rock that sort of looks like a dudes head? And it's everywhere!

Edit: we should be able to criticize ourselves and where we live without getting too defensive. NH has some fucked up policies and people up here, no doubt. Mass does some wacky shit sometimes, too. Maybe not quite as wacky as NH, but wacky still.

Simple, they need the money to pay for the professional highly paid employees. Many who got their jobs by holding signs for hours. Worth every penny, too.

People who hold signs go on to hold many things.

If we charged what you charge for state parks, we'd be able to have in-ground pools with waterslides at every campsite.

I believe you can use your license in certain lakes, i was just looking to renew my license this morning actually.

https://www.mass.gov/service-details/who-needs-a-recreational-saltwater-fishing-permit#:~:text=These%20agreements%20allow%20MA%20recreational,private%20vessel%20or%20from%20shore

As of Feb. 17, 2011, Massachusetts has reciprocity agreements with:
New Hampshire: MA to NH and NH to MA
Rhode Island: MA to RI and RI to MA
Connecticut: MA to CT and CT to MA
Maine: MA to ME only

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Thanks for this helpful contribution

[deleted]

A good campsite can definitely make for a more enjoyable trip. Empty sites that are a massive upgrade sucks.

Thank you, I will check it out.

What specifically am I generalizing about? I'm saying it's kind of a bummer for MA to charge more to out of staters while people from MA enjoy the relatively low prices in the states that surround MA.

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Where are you from?

Of course it was someone from western RI who complained. “I’m nevah evah comin back to the cape neithah!” I can just picture the 1990 bangs haircut bobbing up and down as she complains about everything that’s outside of her shitty town.

I don’t have a problem with this. Charge out of state residents their share of what it costs to maintain the parks. Subsidize that rate (with tax revenue) for Mass residents (who pay state tax). Though I feel like if you work in Mass and pay taxes here, you should get the in state rate.

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Muwahahaha! Now we can use the money to invest in ADA compliant walkways and paths! MUWAHAHAHAH! /s

A NH 3 day out of state fishing license is roughly the same as a full year resident license.

Am I wrong? So you're saying that all those thousands of MA residents that come up here to camp would be perfectly fine with paying 3X what they're currently paying to camp at state parks in NH?

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bro you live in new hampshire. damn near the whole state is free camping as long as youre 200 feet from the road/trail and 800(?) feet from water. why the fuck are you getting so bent out of shape when you literally have a protected right to camp literally amlost anywhere in one of the most beautiful landscapes on the planet and you want to come bum it up in Massachusetts?

obviously not. its an amenity that residents pay for through taxes. idk if you have looked at your taxes lately but youre paying a lot. why should someone who didnt contribute anything get in at dramatically less cost? thats why the out of state rate is a little higher

surprised im not seeing more people talk about traffic tbh. i went to acadia in july one year, shit was a parking lot, never again. think i spent more time in the car trying to drive around the big loop than anything else.

I guess our definitions of "a little" are different. 300% more doesn't fall within my definition of "a little"

oh im sorry, did they charge you $400?

>Oh my fucking god. It's a NIGHTMARE. We have to have 7 people on 7 computers trying exactly at 8 am 6 months before we want the site (when the campsite goes live), and MAYBE one of us will get a site before they all get sold out.

Certain sites are only letting you book 4 months in advance now

Maybe you should be then

This isn’t the reason and you sound stupid for thinking it is

This isn’t the reason and you sound stupid for thinking it is