Starting Jan. 1, it will cost visitors a little more to visit the Vicksburg National Military Park.

According to information from the National Park Service, the cost of a Vicksburg National Military Park annual pass will increase in January by $5, from $25 to $30, while a vehicle pass will go up $3, from $12 to $15. The charge per person and the fee for motorcycles will remain the same at $5 and $7, respectively.

“Two years ago, the park went through an evaluation of the current fees, which was part of a (National Park) service-wide evaluation,” said Park Superintendent Bill Justice.

Part of the evaluation, he said, was a public comment period involving mostly people in Vicksburg and online comments through a park service website.

“What was determined at that time, based on public comments, was to do a two-stage fee increase,” he said. “So last January we increased our fees to their current levels. This year, we’re increasing them further to the level that will make all the fees we have in the park more in line with the fees charged at other national parks this size in the system.

“The people here in Vicksburg use this park a lot,” Justice said, “and we love it that we’re used that way for exercise and other activities.”

He said the fees apply to everyone who enters the park, calling the park’s annual pass “a tremendous deal, and anyone who purchases a pass at any time, that annual pass is good 365 days after purchase. Now, people can get it for a lower price than if they get it Jan. 1. Everybody should take advantage of the annual pass.”

He said the money helps pay for park projects “we literally wouldn’t be able to do if it weren’t for the fees. One of the projects we’re going to be starting over the winter it so refurbish the public restrooms at the visitor center.”

Other projects include solar lighting in the visitor center parking lot, exhibits and video program at the visitor center, and park maintenance projects.

“Those are the kinds of things we’re able to use these fees on. The projects that directly affect the people who come visit the park,” Justice said.