The cost to rent a cabin at Moraine State Park is set to increase.

The range of fees for lodging at Pennsylvania State Parks is changing next year.

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources sets the fee structure at state parks, but each park has different prices for its facilities.

Terry Brady, press secretary for the department, said increases to the range for lodging fees is a standard process implemented by DCNR annually, and the price range is decided based on market analysis of nearby states and private businesses.

So, while state park attendance increased from 37 million in 2019 to more than 46 million in 2020, and generated more than $16 million in revenue from July 2019 to June 2020, Brady said the increase is annual and unaffected by attendance numbers.

“The fee increase is not directly tied to higher levels of visitation and the pandemic,” he said. “Usually, our overall fees rise at a rate consistent with inflation. State parks' rates were compared with the surrounding state park systems and 20 private businesses across the commonwealth that provide accommodations comparable to Pennsylvania state park facilities.”

Moraine State Park has 11 modern cabins available to rent. Each provides space for six people and includes two bedrooms, a bathroom with a shower, a kitchen, a dining and living area, electric heat and a dock on Lake Arthur.

Dustin Drew, manager of Moraine State Park, said the park's reservation fees are on the low end of the range and will only increase by a few dollars in 2022, so he doesn't think it will affect reservations much.

“I don't think it's a major increase,” Drew said. “I don't foresee it affecting reservations as far as the number of reservations at the park. From the current (rate) right now to next year's rate, I'm seeing it's like a $3 or $4 increase, so not a really significant increase.”

Booking a modern cabin at Moraine averages $72 for one night for an in-state resident, but the price fluctuates within the state range based on time of year and how far out a booking is made.

In addition to lodging, the fee ranges for renting marinas and boat racks are also increasing. Brady said the DCNR will generate an extra $600,000 during the next two fiscal years through the fee-range increases.

The price range increase will be implemented for modern and rustic cabins, yurts, deluxe and camping cottages, marinas, boat storage racks and categories of rooms at the Nature Inn at Bald Eagle State Park, according to a notice from the DCNR in a Jan. 30 edition of the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

For example, the price range for a Pennsylvania resident's stay in a modern cabin is increasing from $55.66 to $139.62 a night to $61 to $183 a night.

Drew said money generated by individual state parks goes to the Bureau of State Parks and is distributed to parks throughout the state for renovations and improvements.

“We get to keep some of that (revenue) to do improvements with,” Drew said. “It's distributed throughout the state parks system statewide, but it does stay within state parks.”