PERSONAL trainers are not happy they will soon face tighter restrictions and higher fees to train at the Kokoda Memorial Track in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.

Parks Victoria will introduce new control measures to manage the site, particularly the increasingly popular 1000 Steps trail which now has more than 500,000 visitors every year.

The fee for a standard one-year commercial tour group operator licence - which trainers must have - is $110, but from July 1 next year it will jump to $255.

Tecoma resident Lisa Booker owns Endorphins Personal Training and often trains in the Dandenong Ranges personally.

However, she said she did not take large groups to train there because it was too expensive. "If you have to purchase a permit, you then either have to add the cost to your clients or hardly make any money on it yourself."

Mrs Booker said the charges were frustrating because they were imposed annually, not per visit. "I would only want to train there with my boot camp groups maybe once a month, but I still have to pay a high yearly fee."

Mrs Booker often sees personal trainers and boot camps using the tracks and believes "some do and some don't" have permits.

The expected changes will make the process more selective and trainers will have to submit an expression of interest via the Parks Victoria website.

Ranger-in-charge at Dandenong Ranges National Park Matthew Hoogland said there had been "some issues with personal trainers" in the past, but wouldn't specify what they were. He said the permits were necessary for economic and safety reasons.

However, Mrs Booker doesn't believe safety is the motivating factor. "It mustn't be, otherwise groups of family and friends that use the area would also need permits."