A large-scale survey explored community attitudes towards the application of user fees in natural environment settings used for tourism and recreation. The study was undertaken in two Northern Australian cities where there is considerable tourism use and some existing application of a user fees approach. The study explored the acceptability of user fees for 14 different types of settings. Data revealed that a user fees approach was considered acceptable for tourism sites when tourists were being charged. There was some recognition that all users could pay user fees for the tourism sites. Seven recreation sites were seen as inappropriate locations for user fees irrespective of who was using the sites. Additional analyses identified clusters of respondents with common systems of knowledge or social representations about user fees. Further use of this systems of knowledge approach was recommended for advancing understanding and informing practice in this controversial area of tourism management.