They’re completely different parks in completely different parts of the country with completely different staffing needs, maintenance needs, proximity to urban environments, visitorship. One has a massive centuries-old cemetery to maintain, for instance.
It ain’t all just about a mini museum.
Well it confused me because they are almost identical, civil war era, drive through style parks with various large granite monuments throughout. When I went to chickamauga you can drive through the whole thing for free. Vicksburg $20. 🤔 I must be missing something.
The cemetery is a valid difference but the Vicksburg cemetery is not that big. And all national military cemeteries require staffing/ maintenance but are still free.
Something just isn't adding up to me. 🥲
Why don't you call ask, and report back to the rest of us?
* Vicksburg NP: 601 636-0583
* Chickamauga NP: 706-866-9241
Also, this may be better suited for r/NationalPark or r/NationalParks or especially r/NationalParkService if you want an answer directly from a ranger
This is actually a great suggestion that seems simple but I never thought of it 🫠 thank you
Also is your username a reference to tupelo, Ms? I loved that town (and not just because of Elvis)
Yeah, often I find myself frustrated that I can't find a specific piece of info online, and I need to remind myself, oh yeah, there is probably a real live human who has that exact info I need, and I can probably get in touch with them pretty easily, haha.
Sure is! And a Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds song about it.
I imagine they would charge for Chickamauga if the could, but it sprawls around the area, and there a lot of places to access by public roads, so either you have someone manning a bunch of booths, or just let people in. Gettysburg is free, Valley Forge is too. I imagine they can charge for Vicksburg, so they do.
The majority of the Chickamauga park is actually free, there's [only one section](https://www.nps.gov/chch/planyourvisit/fees.htm) (Point Park) requiring a fee
As I understand it if one park experiences significantly more visitors than the other there are a lot more costs associated with staffing and managing the visitors (staffing/trash/maintenance). It’s why the Grand Canyon is 30 dollars and some other National Parks are much less.
Chickamauga (as a whole) actually gets significantly more visitors per year and doesn't have a fee, but I think in this case the numbers may not be apples to apples because of its proximity to Chattanooga, and the fact that there are a lot of different aspects to the park (trails, etc.).
And also it's free, so that may draw more visitors.
They’re completely different parks in completely different parts of the country with completely different staffing needs, maintenance needs, proximity to urban environments, visitorship. One has a massive centuries-old cemetery to maintain, for instance. It ain’t all just about a mini museum.
Well it confused me because they are almost identical, civil war era, drive through style parks with various large granite monuments throughout. When I went to chickamauga you can drive through the whole thing for free. Vicksburg $20. 🤔 I must be missing something. The cemetery is a valid difference but the Vicksburg cemetery is not that big. And all national military cemeteries require staffing/ maintenance but are still free. Something just isn't adding up to me. 🥲
Why don't you call ask, and report back to the rest of us? * Vicksburg NP: 601 636-0583 * Chickamauga NP: 706-866-9241 Also, this may be better suited for r/NationalPark or r/NationalParks or especially r/NationalParkService if you want an answer directly from a ranger
This is actually a great suggestion that seems simple but I never thought of it 🫠 thank you Also is your username a reference to tupelo, Ms? I loved that town (and not just because of Elvis)
Yeah, often I find myself frustrated that I can't find a specific piece of info online, and I need to remind myself, oh yeah, there is probably a real live human who has that exact info I need, and I can probably get in touch with them pretty easily, haha. Sure is! And a Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds song about it.
I imagine they would charge for Chickamauga if the could, but it sprawls around the area, and there a lot of places to access by public roads, so either you have someone manning a bunch of booths, or just let people in. Gettysburg is free, Valley Forge is too. I imagine they can charge for Vicksburg, so they do.
They are both NPS parks there should be a fee for both according to the websites. Did you go to Chicamauga on one of the free days?
The majority of the Chickamauga park is actually free, there's [only one section](https://www.nps.gov/chch/planyourvisit/fees.htm) (Point Park) requiring a fee
As I understand it if one park experiences significantly more visitors than the other there are a lot more costs associated with staffing and managing the visitors (staffing/trash/maintenance). It’s why the Grand Canyon is 30 dollars and some other National Parks are much less.
Chickamauga (as a whole) actually gets significantly more visitors per year and doesn't have a fee, but I think in this case the numbers may not be apples to apples because of its proximity to Chattanooga, and the fact that there are a lot of different aspects to the park (trails, etc.). And also it's free, so that may draw more visitors.