Victoria Pool to cost $8 and parking fees going up at Saratoga Spa State Park.

Spa State Park pool, parking fees to change
Wednesday, May 13, 2009


SARATOGA SPRINGS — Pool and parking fees at the Spa State Park are set to change this year, according to the 2009 operation schedule released by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

Changes to the fees and operating schedule at Saratoga Spa State Park are part of a region-wide plan to adjust services to meet patron demand, promote underutilized facilities and implement cost-saving measures during a period of state budget reductions.

The contact stations opened for weekends May 2 and will be open everyday starting May 23 to collect a $6 vehicle use fee (VUF) for entrance into the southern end of the park through Oct. 12. The southern end of the park includes the Peerless Pool complex, Geyser Creek picnic area and all of the park’s eight picnic pavilions, which are available for rental.

The Victoria Pool and the Peerless Pool complex will open Saturday, June 27, and will close for the season Monday, Sept. 7. The Victoria Pool will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week. The Peerless Pool complex will be open six days a week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The complex will be closed Tuesdays throughout the summer.

The pool fee at the Victoria Pool will be $8 per adult and $4 per child. The pool fee at the Peerless Pool will be $2 per adult and $1 per child. The park has raised the entrance fee at the Victoria Pool and lowered the entrance fee at the Peerless Pool in an effort to encourage families and other pool-goers to patronize the Peerless Pool complex. In prior years, the Victoria Pool has suffered from overcrowding and intermittent closure because of its limited capacity of 344 patrons. The Peerless Pool complex can accommodate more than 1,000 patrons and has amenities like water slides, a kiddie pool, a zero-entry pool, a new playground and picnic areas nearby that are not available at the Victoria Pool.

The park is also increasing parking fees this year for Live Nation rock concert events to encourage carpooling and mass transportation to the event; reduce negative impacts to the park; and to offset the extra security, life safety and clean-up costs associated with the rock concert series. On nights when there is a rock concert at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), the fee for parking in Saratoga Spa State Park will be increased to $10. The VUF for concert patrons entering the park will be raised from $6 to $10 when the SPAC Route 50 parking lots are opened for the event. Typically, the Route 50 lots open two hours before showtime, or three hours before showtime for the larger events. Parking at the Route 50 parking lots will continue to be free of charge. The $10 parking fee will only apply to concert-goers parking in the park. The fee will be applied in both the southern end of the park, where it has traditionally been collected at the contact stations, and in the northern end of the park when and where lawn parking is required within the main campus or mall.

A parking fee will not be charged for SPAC’s classical programming.