Little River Springs now charging for entry

[macado]

I dont have a problem with the $5 daily use fee. In my opinion It's very reasonable but people will argue about anything on the Internet. Of course I like free myself but there are benefits to small monetary entrance fees.

Putting things into perspective, people spend $50,000 on trucks, $11,000 on rebreathers, $10,000 on DPVs, $4000 on drysuits and $2000 on canister lights while sipping their Starbucks $6 sugar drinks or $9 dollar IPA but then complain $5 is SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE

I think one of the great things about cave diving is that you dont need to be rich to enjoy it as long as you're not paying $250 daily guiding fees in Mexico or $150 dive boat charter fees every weekend. My point was I consider a $3-$5 daily use fee pretty reasonable.

My hope is that it helps eliminate or deter some of the vandalism and trash often seen at Little River.

 

[Whitrzac]

I don't think anyone is complaining about the $5 day fee.
Just the $125 yearly pass.

 

[macado]

I won't argue there. It's expensive for a county park that only provides acesss to one site in comparison to what I pay for an annual family pass ($120) that covers Florida State Parks. For for locals who might go swimming every other weekend, use facilities, or launch a kayak then maybe it's worth it to them?

I guess if there are people that dive Little River more than 25 times a year then maybe it's worth it. I only dive Little River about 15 times a year (based on my last 5 years of cave logs). For me it's simple, there is no benefit to purchasing a yearly pass in that instance

Unrelated but the economics of the season pass at Ginnie Spring is more simple even depite the price increase. I can dive 24/7, and dont have to fill out a waiver every time. If there were some other tangible benefit to buying a season pass for Little River then I would be all over it.

 

[rddvet]

Unrelated but the economics of the season pass at Ginnie Spring is more simple even depite the price increase. I can dive 24/7, and dont have to fill out a waiver every time.

Yep, that's the only benefit to Ginnie's pass now unless you're diving there alot. I never have time to dive ginnie off-hours, so no pass for me. This past weekend the check in process for ginnie was so annoying cause the dive shop was closed it made me not want to dive Ginnie.

 

[berndo]

Putting things into perspective, people spend $50,000 on trucks, $11,000 on rebreathers, $10,000 on DPVs, $4000 on drysuits and $2000 on canister lights while sipping their Starbucks $6 sugar drinks or $9 dollar IPA but then complain $5 is SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE

People go there for swimming too. If I was a local with not a lot of money that likes to go there with family, I'd be pissed about that too. If it's 500 bucks per year for a family of 4 that just wants to swimm, it's not that cheap.
Edit: I missed that it's 125 per car, not per person.

 

[rddvet]

People go there for swimming too. If I was a local with not a lot of money that likes to go there with family, I'd be pissed about that too. If it's 500 bucks per year for a family of 4 that just wants to swimm, it's not that cheap.

I definitely agree with everyone that the annual cost is ridiculous considering the daily is $5. Just wanted to point out though, that I'm pretty sure the annual fee covers anybody in the car. So it would only be $125/year. Not that that's better. I think they shot themselves in the foot a little. I think an annual fee closer to the $60 range would be a better choice.

 

[Imbodie]

Weekend trip report from LR... dove two days, paid $10... Friday 5-26-2023, park was clean not many swimmers, something like 6 divers... was 100% comfortable leaving my cart at the water. Monday was there at 8:45 and already had 4 vehicles in parking lot. Had a county police cruiser in the parking area for 30 minutes (no drama) a LOT of people by the time I we got in the water... still felt comfortable leaving my cart at the water. Hung around and did a cavern dive with a newly certified cavern diver... by the time I left at 1pm, they were doing flow control for people coming into the park, as I left they let the next vehicle in.... with probably 8 cars behind them... If you are going to cave dive I would suggest early arrival. PLEASE let the attendants know you appreciate their being there, this was the best experience I EVER had at LR... and I lived in Trenton FL for 6 years and was at LR often.

 

[Six Feet Under]

I've only been to LR once (didn't even dive - it was flooded and siphoning to the point where line was being pulled off the reel at the log, my buddies called the dive before I ever made it into the water), but I'm not opposed to the $5 fee. I wouldn't be paying the $125/year fee, though... definitely not making it there frequently enough to be worth it.

 

[mr_v]

I don't live in FL but am lucky enough to have lived in and visited most beautiful US states, including FL. IMHO, many FL folks don't understand what they have. FL parks are phenomenal and precious. Think about it - warm fresh water springs that provide an enormous support for flora and fauna! Everglades? Out of this world!

FL ecosystem is as outstanding as it is fragile. $125 all you can eat pass barely covers maintenance costs and $5 entry fee is, essentially, cheaper than a trip to Starbucks. Charging for access to nature is a step in the right direction. Combine it with mandatory community work and fines for littering, please.

 

[Six Feet Under]

I don't live in FL but am lucky enough to have lived in and visited most beautiful US states, including FL. IMHO, many FL folks don't understand what they have. FL parks are phenomenal and precious. Think about it - warm fresh water springs that provide an enormous support for flora and fauna! Everglades? Out of this world!

FL ecosystem is as outstanding as it is fragile. $125 all you can eat pass barely covers maintenance costs and $5 entry fee is, essentially, cheaper than a trip to Starbucks. Charging for access to nature is a step in the right direction. Combine it with mandatory community work and fines for littering, please.

Florida has a ton to offer, environmentally. Unfortunately, most of the people who live in the areas with the most to offer are also the trashiest humans you could find if you were paid money to do so. Seems like rural areas get trashed out of laziness and more developed areas get trashed out of peoples' greed for a buck