If you’re feeling overwhelmed because every backpacking trip idea you have seems to require a permit, you’re in the right place! After over six years of backpacking, I know just how much planning it takes to secure permits for popular trails, especially during peak season. This post breaks down common permit processes and terminology, including booking permits on Recreation.gov.
Why Permits?
A permit gives you and your group permission to stay overnight in the wilderness. Permits are tied to a specific person and usually non-transferable. Some popular hikes require permits even for day-use (eg. Half Dome cables, Mt. Whitney).
Even when permits are unlimited and/or self-issued, you may still be required to register for one. This is because permits provide information to park management on trail usage and also document hikers’ travel plans in the case that search and rescue is needed.
Permits are usually limited by quotas. Quotas allow parks to manage human impact to fragile environments and preserve the wilderness experience for hikers. But when demand for a limited number of permits is growing rapidly, the outdoors feels inaccessible for those that cannot plan ahead.
It is not a perfect system and it can be confusing, so I will do my best to break it down below.
Permit Types
This is not an exhaustive list, but permits are commonly designated in the following ways:
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By designated campground. Reserve a specific backcountry campground for each night that you spend in the backcountry. Camping outside the campground is not permitted. Examples: most of Mount Rainier National Park, most of Glacier National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone National Park.
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By entry trailhead and direction. Camp anywhere given that you begin your hike on the trail indicated on your permit and you follow the rules for campsite selection. Examples: most of Yosemite National Park, Inyo National Forest, Sequoia and Kings Canyon.
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By camping zone. Camp anywhere within the zone given that you follow the rules for campsite selection. Example: Desolation Wilderness.
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By trail. Permits to complete a specific route. May be a day trip or overnight trip (camping rules vary). Examples: Mt. Whitney, Half Dome cables, Zion Narrows.
What Permit Do I Need?
This is my first question when I have a trip idea in mind. The regulations for staying overnight in the wilderness depends on the area you’ll be backpacking in, and some areas don’t even require permits. Common public lands you’ll come across are:
- National parks (managed by NPS)
- National forests (managed by USFS)
- National wilderness areas (managed by a mix)
- Bureau of Land Management lands (managed by BLM)
- State parks and forests
- County or municipal parks
I usually will Google the trail name and try to find the park site or Recreation.gov page, which will contain the permit information I need. Blogs can also be a great way to find permit information (I include the permit name for every trip report I write on my site).
When are Permits Needed?
Typically, permits are required all year round. More popular areas have a quota season when permits are limited. In mountainous areas when most people recreate summer to fall, quota season usually starts in May/June and goes until September/October. In deserts or lower-altitude areas with temperate climates, quota season may be year round.
Outside of quota season, permits are unlimited and often self-issued. This means you can register in-person at the trailhead or a ranger station, or online. Refer to your specific permit area for this information.
If you are backpacking in the US, especially in national parks, Recreation.gov will be your best friend. More and more national parks and wilderness areas have migrated their permit system to Recreation.gov just in the past 6 years that I’ve been backpacking. You will use Recreation.gov to reserve permits, enter permit lotteries, see your lottery results, print permits, etc.
Each park does permits a bit differently, but this section summarizes some common processes. Make sure to check out the Recreation.gov page for the specific park you are interested in for exact dates and processes. If you still have questions, give the park rangers a call and they will be happy to help.
Advance Reservations
A portion of permits every season are released far in advance of the trip date, such as 3-6 months. For wilderness areas that have a peak season of summer to fall, permits are released pre-season, aka spring or as early as winter before the backpacking season starts.
Recreation.gov has 2 main methods of releasing advance reservations: releasing at a specified time, and lotteries.
How Fast Can You Click?
Permits may be released on a rolling basis or for the season all at once. Popular permits can get booked out in minutes (eg. Grand Teton National Park), so it is important to be online right when they are released. Since permits can be on a 6-month ahead rolling release, you may need to start thinking about the permit you want as early as November of the previous year!
May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor
Some parks have started to mix luck into the process to make getting a permit more fair. This is usually done via 2 types of lotteries.
Permit lotteries are just what they sound like. Instead of being able to reserve a permit, you enter a lottery for one. Some of these lotteries are free to enter, but some are not. Eg: Yosemite National Park, Enchantments.
Early-access lotteries are a lottery for a time slot to reserve a permit before the permits become available to the public. The earlier your time slot, the better your chances are of securing the permit you want. Eg: Mount Rainier National Park, North Cascades National Park, Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon National Park.
Reservations vs Permits
While permit reservations give you a right to a permit, they are often not the permit. When you go on a trip, you must carry an actual permit, not just the email confirmation that you reserved one.
Permits can sometimes be printed at home (Desolation Wilderness) or digital, but other times they must be obtained from a ranger station (Yosemite National Park, Mount Rainier National Park). This allows rangers to go over topics with you like Leave No Trace guidelines, food storage, trail conditions, etc. It also gives you the chance to ask any questions you may have about your trip.
It is important to be aware of whether in-person permit pickup is needed when making travel plans. This means you might want to arrive the day before your hike to pick up your permit before the ranger station closes in order to not delay your first day of hiking. Also, the pickup location may not always be on your way to the trailhead.
Walkup Permits
Don’t worry, if you can’t plan so far ahead or luck is not on your side, most parks reserve a portion of the quota for walkup permits, which are permits that are released right before the trip date. They are usually first-come, first-serve, although there are exceptions (the daily lottery for Half Dome permits).
Traditionally, walkup permits could only be obtained in-person a day or two before your hike. Since COVID, some areas (eg. Yosemite, Eastern Sierra) have moved to doing walkup permits online 1-2 weeks before, which is much easier for planning.
If You Can’t Get a Permit…
Look for less popular trails. The reality is there are many underrated trails with permits that are left unclaimed, and these can be reserved at any time before your trip. Avoid peak season. I’ve found it much easier to get permits outside the peak summer months and instead backpacking during shoulder season: May, June, September, October. Check for cancellations. When people are forced to plan so far ahead, sometimes things change, and people cancel their permits. Check back periodically to see if any spots have opened up. Consider non-quota areas. Many wonderful wilderness areas have unlimited permits (examples in section below).
California Permit Dates (2025)
For my California readers, I’ve compiled the Recreation.gov links for most of our wilderness areas and a VERY brief “how does this permit work” TLDR. All the details are on Recreation.gov.
Quota
Quota season Apr 25 - Oct 19
Pre-Season: 60% quota released weekly, 6 months before trip date via lottery. Unclaimed permits released weekly.
Walkup: Online. 40% quota released 1 week before trip date.
Useful Links: permit map, NPS permit page, trail descriptions
Inyo National Forest (Eastern Sierra)
Quota season May 1 - Nov 1
Pre-Season: 60% quota released daily, 6 months before trip date.
Walkup: Online. 40% quota released 2 weeks before trip date.
Useful Links: trail quotas (note: each trail name has a link to the trail’s permit map)
Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park
Quota season May 23 - Sep 27
Pre-Season: Released daily, 6 months before trip date.
Walkup: In-person
Useful Links: permit map, NPS permit page, trail descriptions
Quota season May 23 - Sep 30
Pre-Season: Released daily, 6 months before trip date.
Walkup: In-person
Useful Links: permit map, trail quotas
Half Dome Cables - Yosemite National Park
Quota season May - Oct, exact dates depend on when cables are up.
Pre-Season: Enter lottery online in March. Lottery results announced in April.
Walkup: Online. Enter lottery 2 days before trip date.
Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest
Quota season Jun 15 - Oct 15
Pre-Season: Quota released daily, 6 months before trip date.
Walkup: Online. 50% quota released 3 days before trip date.
King Range Wilderness Permits (Lost Coast)
Quota season year-round
Pre-Season: Released daily, 3 months before trip date.
Walkup: In-person. 3 spots per day.
Useful Links: trail quotas
Quota season year-round
Pre-Season: Released daily, 6 months before trip date.
Walkup: Online. 40% quota released 2 weeks before trip date.
Useful Links: trail quotas
Non-Quota
If you missed the permit release dates and you don’t want to deal with walkup permits, don’t worry. There are still places that you can backpack even if you did not plan in advance because they have no quotas. Just to name a few in California: Trinity Alps Wilderness, Emigrant Wilderness, and Humboldt-Toiyabe, are great options to start with. The Ventana Wilderness (Big Sur area) does not require wilderness permits.
Note: some destinations require a free campfire permit (even to use a stove), but it’s easy to get one online.
Lassen National Park: Reserve online.
Joshua Tree National Park: Reserve online. Unlimited outside of Boy Scout Trail and in the Pine City Zone.
Stanislaus National Forest - Emigrant Wilderness, Carson-Iceberg Wilderness: In-person
Stanislaus National Forest - Mokelumne Wilderness: In-person, or self-issued online. Note: the Carson Pass Management Area in Mokelumne Wilderness does have quotas.
Ventana Wilderness (Big Sur) in the Los Padres National Forest: No permits required.
Henry W. Coe State Park: In-person. Technically not non-quota, but are walkup only and usually available.
Shasta-Trinity National Forest - Trinity Alps: Self-issued in-person.
Marble Mountain Wilderness: No permits required.
Jennie Lakes Wilderness: Self-issued at trailhead.
Snow Mountain Wilderness: No permits required.
Hope this guide clears up the permit process a bit. If you have any questions (especially about California permits), please free to leave a comment.
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