News Release

Mount Rainier Summer 2021 Wilderness and Climbing Reservations Available Online Through Recreation.gov

Date: February 17, 2021
Contact: Dan van der Elst, 360-569-6650 or 360-569-2211

Mount Rainier National Park will offer online trip planning and reservations on Recreation.gov for the June 1 through September 20, 2021 peak hiking season.  Visitors will have the opportunity to see real-time site availability and secure definitive backcountry trips for the popular  Wonderland Trail and other locations.  While the park has offered advance reservations for wilderness camping and climbing for over twenty years, the 2021 shift to fully online reservations will allow visitors greater control over their itinerary and earlier notification of a confirmed trip. The park will retain one third of all available sites for “walk-up” reservations throughout the summer.  
 

Mount Rainier National Park receives about 7500 requests for climbing and backpacking trips every year. On average, about 2700 of those requests are for the celebrated Wonderland Trail (WLT).  However, the park’s federally designated wilderness can accommodate only 600-700 reservations for the WLT every summer. “Visitors to the Mount Rainier Wilderness have the opportunity to travel through a wild and largely undeveloped backcountry environment, and permit limits allow us to manage overnight use to protect the park’s fragile resources and ensure that the visitor experience is maintained over time,” stated Acting Superintendent Tracy Swartout. “We are excited to embark on this pilot project which attempts to improve the process for obtaining backcountry camping reservations within the park.”  
 

Outdoor enthusiasts will have three options to acquire a backcountry or climbing permit for overnight trips during the peak season, June 1 through September 30, 2021.  

• Option One: Starting Tuesday, March 2 through Sunday, March 14, 2021 visitors may apply for the Early Access Lottery  by going to the Mount Rainier National Park page on Recreation.gov.  The Early Access Lottery is based on a fair and randomized process to provide an equal opportunity for each applicant to be selected. If selected, successful lottery applicants will be assigned a date and time to book their proposed reservation online during the Early Access Period (March 22-April 21). 
• Option Two: General access (also called the General On-Sale) for advanced reservations will be available from Tuesday, April 27 through September 28 for booking without an appointment online.  Visitors can learn more about what to expect and how to prepare for similar on-sale events through Recreation.gov. 
• Option Three: As in previous years, approximately one-third of all available sites will be held for walk-up permits, which can be obtained up to 24 hours in advance of a trip at Wilderness Information Centers from Friday, May 28 through Monday, October 11, 2021 

While the lottery system reduces the number of users competing for a site simultaneously during the Early Access Period, users will still face competition for available sites and will need to plan out their preferred itinerary prior to making any reservation. Early Access Period users will be able to login as early as March 22 to view availability and plan their trip, but users will not be able to reserve their permit until their assigned date and time. Visitors will need to ensure that the itinerary they select is realistic, and takes into account their entire party’s fitness, the challenging terrain and seasonal snowpack.  Visitors wishing to make reservations online are encouraged to set up a free account on Recreation.gov prior to attempting to make a reservation. A step-by-step explanation of how the Early Access Lottery works is also available. 

Mount Rainier National Park’s website offers many resources to help visitors plan their ideal backcountry trip. Wilderness Trip Planners , climbing permit information, the Wilderness Alerts page (noting current hazards and safety information) and are available online. Detailed information about the new online backcountry reservation system can be found here. A comprehensive list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and a summary document illustrating the three methods to acquire a permit are also available online. Visitors should access the Mount Rainier National Park site on Recreation.gov when they are ready to plan their trip. Individuals planning a backcountry trip can email [e-mail] or call [phone] (Wednesday–Sunday) to consult with Wilderness Information Center rangers. 

Recreation.gov is a joint initiative among participating federal agencies. A dozen federal agencies participate with Recreation.gov to offer more than 100,000 reservable sites and activities. The Recreation.gov website hosts over 20 million visitors and processes more than 4.8 million reservations each year. The site was created in 1995 to provide a reservation service to the public for Federal recreation facilities and activities. Today, it remains the one-stop resource for reservations and extensive trip-planning services to its millions of visitors. 

www.nps.gov 

About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 423 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities.