In a move condemned by park lovers and the tourist industry, the Trump administration on Tuesday proposed a huge jump in the entrance fees of many of America’s most popular national parks — to $70 per car for Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and 14 other parks, up from $25 to $30 now.

Related Articles With talk of entrance fees going up, here’s a Love Map of America’s affection for its national parks

Editorial: Don’t make Yosemite just for the rich

Climbers set speed record on Yosemite’s Nose of El Capitan

The Yosemite most people never see: 10 dazzling hikes Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said the increase, which will be considered in the coming months after public comment, is needed to help pay for maintenance costs such as repairing and renovating roads, bathrooms, trails and campgrounds.

“The infrastructure of our national parks is aging,” Zinke said in a statement. “Targeted fee increases at some of our most-visited parks will help ensure that they are protected and preserved in perpetuity and that visitors enjoy a world-class experience that mirrors the amazing destinations they are visiting.”

Related Articles Yosemite National Park to close due to heavy smoke

Yosemite: Hazardous smoke, fire closure. Oh, and biting snakes. Under the proposal, entrance fees would be hiked at 17 national parks during “peak season,” when most Americans visit the parks. That’s when the $70 fee for cars would apply. Bringing in a motorcycle would cost $50, up from $12 to $25 now.

Critics slammed the proposal.

“We should not increase fees to such a degree as to make these places — protected for all Americans to experience — unaffordable for some families to visit,” said Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, an environmental group in Washington, D.C.

Local elected officials and tourism leaders in the Yosemite area also criticized the plan.

“They are thinking they are going to get the same number of visitors,” said Tuolumne County Supervisor John Gray, whose district includes Yosemite National Park, “but if you more than double the entrance fee, you aren’t going to get the same number of visitors. The gateway communities are very dependent on tourist trade.”

Under Tuesday’s proposal, peak season would run from May 1 to Sept. 30 in these parks: Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Denali, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Olympic, Sequoia Kings Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion.

The peak season would run from June 1 to Oct. 30 at Acadia, Mount Rainier, Rocky Mountain and Shenandoah. And Joshua Tree’s peak season would be from Jan. 1 to May 31.

For the rest of the year, the fees would remain at the current rate of $25 to $30 per car, depending on the park.

The fee to ride a bike, ride a horse or walk into the 17 national parks would jump to $30 in peak season, up from $10 to $15 now.

Hotels, motels, gas stations and restaurants all could be affected, tourism officials said.

Like our Facebook page for more conversation and news coverage from the Bay Area and beyond.

“It is not a good idea. They just raised the fee three years ago,” said Therese Williams, a spokeswoman for Madera County’s tourist bureau.

In 2015, the Obama administration increased the summer entrance fee to $30 per car at Yosemite, up from $20. That same year, Obama announced a program called “Every Kid in a Park,” in which all fourth-graders and their parents would be admitted free to national parks as a way to introduce children to the outdoors and American history.

Pierno noted that the Trump administration has also proposed big cuts to the National Park Service budget.

“If the administration wants to support national parks, it needs to walk the walk and work with Congress to address the maintenance backlog,” she said.

Zinke said that the new fees would raise $70 million a year — a 34 percent increase over the $200 million raised in fees at the 17 parks last year. Under the plan, annual passes at the 17 parks would also increase in price to $75 a year, from the current $35 to $60.

A 30-day public comment period began Tuesday and will continue until Nov. 23. A final decision by Zinke is expected late this year or early next year. For more details or to comment, go to https://parkplanning.nps.gov/proposedpeakseasonfeerates.