Guided tours, shuttle and bus drivers, outfitters and grand-lodge staff make a national-park trip — and nearly all of them work for tips. Here’s the general etiquette, plus park-by-park guides for the big destinations.
Across the national parks, the same cast of workers depends on gratuities: tour and hiking guides, rafting and canyoneering outfitters, shuttle and bus drivers, horseback wranglers, and the housekeepers and servers at the historic lodges. Parks are also where cash tipping breaks down hardest — you’re far from an ATM, signal is patchy, and your small bills run out fast. Below is the general guidance; use the park guides for specifics.
| Who | Customary tip | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tour / hiking guide | 15–20% (or $10–$20 per day) | The main tip of most trips; longer and technical trips run higher. |
| Rafting / outfitter guide | $20–$40 per guest, per day | On multi-day trips, usually pooled among the crew. |
| Shuttle / bus driver | $2–$10 per person | From a few dollars on a shuttle to $5–$10 on a full-day narrated tour. |
| Horseback / mule wrangler | $5–$20 per rider | Depending on the length of the ride. |
| Lodge housekeeping | $2–$5 per night | Left daily at park lodges. |
| Restaurant server | 15–20% | In the lodge dining rooms. |
General US guidance; see each park guide for specifics. For the full picture, read our tour & guide tipping guide.
The intention to tip a great guide is nearly universal; the cash to do it is not. Deep in a park you may be days from a bank, out of signal, and down to your last few bills after a week on the trail or the river. That is why guides, outfitters and lodges across the parks are turning to scannable tip codes: a guest can tip by phone the moment they catch a bar of service or reach the lodge Wi-Fi, and never has to plan around an ATM.
National-park guides, drivers and outfitters work far from the nearest ATM, and visitors rarely carry enough cash for a fair tip after a long day. A ScanToTIP QR code lets travelers tip by phone with Apple Pay, Google Pay or card — and guests can cover the fee so the guide keeps 100%.
15–20% of the tour, or about $10–$20 per person per day for a full-day guided tour. Multi-day and technical trips run higher.
Free park shuttles are a public service and not tipped. For a guided or narrated bus tour, $2–$10 per person is customary depending on length.
Increasingly, guides and outfitters offer a QR code you can scan to tip by phone with Apple Pay, Google Pay or a card — the practical fix for tipping in remote parks.
Free to start, no hardware, works anywhere a phone gets a moment of signal. Your team keeps 100%.
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