Alberta Parks hikes camping fees for 2015 season

Alberta campers will have to spend a bit more this summer to pitch their tents in a provincial park.

Campsite fees are going up $3 a night, with an additional nightly fee of $1 tacked on to sites with electrical service to help offset increased utility costs.

With the increase, the cost of camp sites will now range from $5-$26-dollars a night, depending on location.

Tim Chamberlin of the environment and sustainable resource development department says the small increases will help maintain Alberta Parks.

The new fees, which are expected to generate an extra $2 million, will go toward "such things as showers, washroom facilities, visitor centres, fire pits, picnic tables, you know, roads and trails all the amenities people come to expect and want to enjoy in Alberta parks," Chamberlin said.

Chamberlin is talking about people like Chris Bolin and his young family.

"We do a big family trip at the end of July with cousins and grandparents about 10 of us," Bolin told CBC News. "We try to get five to seven days in."

That time spent in the great outdoors allows his daughter Isla, 4, to engage in classic campground activities such as roasting marshmallows and telling stories.

For the Bolins, the increased fees are a small price to pay for time out of the city.

"I will spend the three bucks for the experience, absolutely," Bolin said.

The new fees will show up on the province's campsite booking system when it opens on Tuesday.