My family and I just returned from our annual visit to Peninsula State Park in Door County. It was a terrific trip! The views were incredible, the meals were delicious, and it is always wonderful to spend quality time with my family. We have been camping in Door County for nearly 30 years, and our annual trip is the perfect opportunity to see firsthand how our reforms in our State Park System are working.

The 17th Senate District is home to eight state parks, more than any other Senate district! I have always loved visiting our beautiful parks and have led the effort in the Legislature to reform the State Park System to make it self-sufficient and improve the visitor experience.

During my trip, I sat down with Peninsula State Park Superintendent Eric Hyde and State Parks Director Steve Schmelzer for our annual conversation. We talked about trends in attendance, park maintenance, and camping that they were seeing at Peninsula State Park and how those compare to the Park System as a whole. We discussed the long-term future of the state parks system and how to keep our robust State Park System strong.

Eric and Steve told me that while attendance is similar to last year, revenue at Peninsula is up significantly. This is largely because of our work in recent state budgets to implement private-sector practices in our state parks. We raised the cost of camping for out-of-state visitors and allowed our most popular parks to adjust prices based on seasonal demand. For example, a non-electric campsite at Tower Grove State Park in Iowa County costs $20 a day, while a non-electric campsite at Peninsula State Park is $28 a day. Despite fee increases for out-of-state visitors, there was no drop off in demand at Peninsula. Campsites still book 11 months in advance, often within minutes of reservations becoming available at 9:00 AM. This success story is not unique to Peninsula, it is happening across the state.

The budget passed this summer continues to fine-tune how the Park System generates revenue. We made modest increases to fees associated with camping at our state parks. Once again, the vast majority of these increases will affect visitors from out of state. The revenue that these increases generate is directly reinvested into our parks to improve picnic tables, fire rings, and trails. We also increased funding for parks operations and to upgrade equipment and technology to help our parks thrive. In total, we invested nearly $15 million in our state parks and forests.

We also made new investments in the system through the state’s capital budget. These investments will focus on improving the infrastructure of our state parks, upgrading and maintaining a number of facilities across the system.

The reforms we have made across the State Park System over the past decade are delivering results! Our goal has been to make the Park System more sustainable by incorporating private-sector principles. These changes have led to increased revenue for improvements and self-sufficient state parks. The increased revenue then goes right back into our parks to make improvements. With revenue on the rise this year, make sure to watch for improvements in a park near you this summer!

If you need assistance with any state-related matters, please call my team at the State Capitol – 608-266-0703 – or email me – Sen.Marklein@legis.wisconsin.gov. My team is ready and willing to help navigate your state government, clear obstacles, and receive your input.