BLM adds new fees at Coeur d’Alene-area recreation sites
BLM’s new $5 day-use fees and $20 camping rates now hit Killarney Lake, Mica Bay, Windy Bay and Huckleberry. The agency says the money will go back into upkeep.
Visitors to some of the most familiar public recreation spots in the Coeur d’Alene area are now paying more at the gate and on the shoreline. The Bureau of Land Management has put new fee schedules in place at Killarney Lake Campground, Windy Bay Boater Park, Mica Bay Boater Park and Huckleberry Campground, ending a pricing structure that the agency said had not been updated since 2012.
Under the new schedule, the day-use fee is $5 per day at Killarney Lake, Mica Bay Boater Park and Huckleberry Campground. Visitors with an America the Beautiful Pass or a Coeur d’Alene Field Office Annual Day-Use Pass do not have to pay the day-use charge, but they still must complete the required on-site fee envelope. Earlier BLM materials also laid out a larger increase for overnight stays at Mica Bay, Windy Bay and Killarney Lake Campground, where the nightly rate rose from $10 to $20, doubling the cost for a family spending the night.
The BLM said the changes were approved through business plans prepared in 2024, followed by a 30-day public comment period and review by the BLM Idaho Resource Advisory Council. Agency officials said the new fees reflect higher operating and maintenance costs tied to heavier use, especially as public access demand has climbed in expanding northern Idaho. The bill for that work includes trash removal, vault toilet pumping, picnic-site improvements, vandalism repair and road and trail maintenance.
The agency said the new rates were not set arbitrarily. Instead, it used a comparative cost review of similar public and private facilities in surrounding counties to align the prices more closely with regional recreation-market norms. BLM also said fee revenue stays at the sites to fund continued maintenance and improvements.
The changes will be felt most at heavily used destinations. Windy Bay Boater Park has 14 tent units, seven mooring docks and two floating vault restrooms. Mica Bay Boater Park has 16 tent camping units, two mooring docks, a swimming beach, picnic units, a group picnic shelter, vault toilets, drinking water and playground equipment. Huckleberry Campground, which serves more than 40,000 visitors a year and has 33 campsites along the St. Joe River, was the site of an electrical power-supply project that cost close to $850,000, and its business plan called for remodeling the potable water system in 2025.
BLM has also pointed to other recent site upgrades, including furnishings replacements at some recreation areas. With the new fees now in place, the real test will be whether the added revenue shows up in cleaner facilities, safer roads and better-maintained docks and campgrounds across Kootenai County.
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