Free access to Ft. Yargo bike trails may end

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Free access to Ft. Yargo bike trails may end

Posted by

Mike Buffington

in Top Stories & Breaking News

Thursday, January 5. 2012

Comments (16)

Mountain bikers soon may have to pay for access to the bike trails at Ft. Yargo State Park.

Because of several successive years of budget cuts, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources is considering charging a new mountain bike trail fee at Ft. Yargo, Hard Labor Creek and Unicoi state parks.

The proposal includes the options of a $2 single-visit fee or a $25 annual pass that would provide year-round access to all state park bike trails.

The department also is considering imposing user fees for other park activities such as horseback riding, disc golf and miniature golf.

To discuss the planned implementation of the new bike trail fees, the department has scheduled two public meetings.

The first is at 7 p.m. Monday at Fort Yargo in the Camp Will-A-Way gymnasium. The other is at 7 p.m. Jan. 11 at Unicoi State Park in Helen in that park’s lodge.

A public notice on Ft. Yargo’s web page explains that the fees are a response to having been “challenged with finding ways to rely less on state funding while keeping parks open for public use.”

Written comments may be submitted before Jan. 20 to the department’s director at: Director.GSPHS@dnr.state.ga.us.

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#1 Biker on 01/05/12 at 10:25 AM [Reply]

The state is going to lose my $50/year park pass fee if they do this. I mean the trails at Ft. Yargo are really great, but I can easily just drive up to Harbins Park and hit their trails for free.

#2 Fisherman on 01/05/12 at 12:00 PM [Reply]

I feel if I have to pay to fish the lake by purchasing a fishing license AND paying a park pass, they should pay to ride the trails.

#2.1 Greedy State on 01/05/12 at 12:09 PM [Reply]

Typical greedy State..corrupt government. Can't stay within their budget so lets soak the folks who visit the parks.

Contact Representative Terry England, Senator Frank Ginn and Representative ??? Let them know you are about fed up with the BS nickel and dimeing us to death. Vote their butts out of office if they keep supporting this king of sock it to the folks mentality.

#2.2 Biker on 01/05/12 at 12:34 PM [Reply]

That fishing license pays for a lot of things. Population monitoring, hatcheries/stocking, finishing areas, boat ramps, you name it.

Those trails are created and maintained by YABA and volunteers. If bikers have to pay anything, it should be to them, not some DNR general fund. You think a penny of the proposed trail fee would actually go to the trails?

#2.3 Steve Gordon on 01/05/12 at 01:24 PM [Reply]

Why should anyone pay to ride trails that are not even taken care of by Fort Yargo. Yargo area biking association Has built 13 miles of trails there and maintains them at our cost not the states. and what about runners , hikers and walkers if we have got to pay why should they not? so dont give an opinion before you know your facts.

Steve Gordon (President of Yargo Area Biking Association)

#2.4 Dennis Hevener on 01/12/12 at 08:04 PM [Reply]

You don't pay Ft. Yargo or the Department of Parks and Historical Sites to fish. You get your license from the DNR Wildlife Resources division. You generally need a license to fish anywhere in Georgia. The money goes to raising stock, building boat ramps, etc. that directly benefit fishermen. Furthermore, fishing licenses do raise money.

The trails are built and maintained by bikers. Did you build the lake or raise any fish to throw in it? The biking fees at Ft. Yargo will not go to benefit bikers. And unlike a fishing license, you don't have to buy one to bike in the state of Georgia. You can bike at a lot of other places without paying.

The $25 isn't really the issue, however. Apparently no study has been done to estimate the revenue and expenses of this program. I am afraid that the park will lose money as a result of this fee, and that the fee will hurt rather than help mountain bikers. I hope I am wrong, and people continue visit Winder and Ft. Yargo, continue to bike at Yargo, and trails continue to be built and maintained.

But Ft. Mountain, another state park that has charged for mountain biking for some time, raised less than $1500 in their last fiscal year.

Should they charge picknicers, bird watchers, and children who use the playgrounds? As someone at the public hearing so eloquently pointed out, if you go to Six Flags, you pay to get in and ride as much as you want. Would Six Flags be a success if you had to pay to get in and then to ride?

#3 Fisherman on 01/05/12 at 01:54 PM [Reply]

They should ALL have to pay to use the resources of the park. Want some more of my opinion..bikes should have to have registrations and plates just like a car or get off the damn road!

#3.1 Anonymous on 01/06/12 at 10:47 AM [Reply]

Hey genius, we do all pay.It is called an entrance fee.

#3.2 Dennis Hevener on 01/12/12 at 08:08 PM [Reply]

We are off the road. "Mountain bike", "trails"....

#4 Joe Billings on 01/05/12 at 03:16 PM [Reply]

I have not set foot in a state park since they started charging. I pay enough local, state and federal taxes. I refuse to pay any more to get into a government owned park.

#4.1 I agree on 01/05/12 at 06:09 PM [Reply]

I quit going to Fart Yargo a long time ago. the Landfill runoff empties directly into the Lake ( The old part with no liner), sewer line in lake leaks all the time. I use to fish there all the time and would catch a lot of crappie and largemouth bass, but no more. The lake is a dead sea. I surely would not eat anything out of that cess pool and now that the economy is bad the State is nickle and diming for everything. They won't get no more of my money.

#5 trail runner on 01/06/12 at 03:02 PM [Reply]

I LOVE FORT YARGO. I hate hearing all this negativity. I am not sure what they mean by trail fees or how they would collect them. I thought that when we bought our yearly passes or day pass that would cover the use of all areas of the park. I don't bike so maybe there is more to this than I am aware of. I also want to thank Steve Gordan and YABA for maintaining the trails. Weather you are hiking, running, or biking these trails offer different levels of outdoor activity for anyone wanting to take a little time away. I will attend the Monday night meeting and hopefully we can come to some positive resolutions.

#6 Regina Deaton on 01/07/12 at 02:23 PM [Reply]

I am angry that these Government entities think they can bully us into paying fees for this and that. I really enjoy the state parks and I think Ga has some of the best state parks in our country. I do mind paying to get into the park (and I will pay the fee if I want to use the park), but I REALLY mind paying to do everything else there is to do in the park besides camping and cabin use. I don't even ride the trails but they won't stop at riding, the next thing we will be paying for is "walking on the trails". I will attend the meeting Monday and hear what is going on but I still think its wrong for Americans to be taxed and fee'd to death to do everything or anything we want to do. That's what our "tax" dollars are supposed to be used for.

#6.1 anon on 01/07/12 at 02:58 PM [Reply]

Tax dollars are used for more than this but if people at the top took the pay cuts and tax hikes that we get, they would think second about some of the things they're doing to us. The parks will lose a lot of business if they do these things. Stand up and say "we ain't gonna take it no more!!!"

#7 Anonymous on 01/07/12 at 02:38 PM [Reply]

I don't often go to Fort Yargo because of the parking fee, but I do go every now and then to take photos there. I do not ride a bike and sometimes the bikers at fort yargo can be annoying, just because of how many there are, but in my opinion they should Not have to pay a extra fee just to ride their bikes. Most people who bike there on a regular basis probably own a yearly parking pass and their presence, in my opinion, probably makes the park a safer place. I believe if they start charging bikers a extra fee, then the bikers are going to just find somewhere else to ride and Ft Yargo will loose the people who actually purchase those yearly parking passes. Look at recent news for Verizon, Net Flix, and Bank of America and you will see that the little guys are starting to stand up for theirselves and refusing to take fees on top of fees...If we take rate increase and more fees they are just gonna keep coming.

#8 Mountain Biker on 01/16/12 at 09:42 AM [Reply]

Start charging an extra fee and a lot of people will avoid riding at Fort Yargo. This will, in turn, have a negative impact on local businesses that cater to mountain bikers. Restaurants, in particular, will suffer because mountain bikers are usually very hungry and eager to eat right after they finish riding. This proposed fee is just wrong, wrong, wrong! Trail maintenance at Fort Yargo will change from blowing off the trails to weed eating the trails due to lack of use! I love riding at Yargo but I will go elsewhere on principle! Volunteer money and volunteer effort built those trails with the state's (unfunded) blessing! Now the very same gov't entity that welcomed the building of these trails (to attract park users) wants to charge for trail use! What a shame!As usual, bureaucrats can't see past the end of their noses or their gov't coffers! What a crock! How do these people look at themselves in the mirror every morning?

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