Backcountry permits for Olympic National Park soon will be available via recreation.gov/NPS
The Olympic National Park Wilderness Information Center will transition to an online reservation system through Recreation.gov beginning at noon on March 18. The new online reservation system will allow backpackers to check the availability of sites in real time, plan their trip and receive immediate confirmation, and streamline the park's wilderness permit reservations, according to the park staff.
In addition to the online option, wilderness permit reservation requests can be submitted in person at a park Wilderness Information Center during business hours. A third option for phone reservations will be functional by late April. This option will allow users to call the Recreation.gov call center at 1-877-444-6777 to obtain a reservation. The call center will be available for assistance with navigating the website beginning March 18. For new users to Recreation.gov, park staff recommends you create an account and get familiar with the new site, which was launched under a new contractor last October 1.
“The new online system is more efficient, convenient, and allows more time for our wilderness information specialists to answer questions and assist with trip planning,” said Olympic Superintendent Sarah Creachbaum.
The fee for online, phone, or in person reservations will be $6, in addition to the regular permit fees. Wilderness Permit fees are $8 per person, per night for individuals 16 or older. Annual Wilderness Passes are $45 per person (annual flat rate), which covers regular permit fees for the pass holder.
Reservations are strongly encouraged when planning trips that include one or more nights to quota areas and group sites:
Quota Areas
Ozette Coast (Yellow Banks to Point of the Arches)
Royal Basin/Royal Lake
Lake Constance
Upper Lena Lake
Flapjack Lakes (including Gladys Divide)
Grand Valley and Badger Valley
Sol Duc/Seven Lakes Basin
Hoh Lake and CB Flats
Hoh River Trail group sites
Upper Hoh River Trail sites (Elk Lake, Glacier Meadows, Martin Creek)
Commercial Use Authorization permit holders and Special Use Permit) holders will be required to have a Recreation.gov account, which will be set up and administered by WIC staff. All current CUA and SUP holders will be contacted by WIC staff with their account information shortly before March 18.
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Comments
IF you are planning a multi-day itinerary through Olympic National Park, this system is not optimized for that. In fact, I can't find a way to make it work at all. When I engaged the chat system for help, two different chat advisors responded that Recreation.Gov no longer handled reservastions for Olympic National Park and directed me to the WIC. With the WIC directing everyone to Recreation.Gov and Recreation.Gov redirecting everyone back to the WIC, trying to backcountry camp in the Park is now a positively Orwellian experience. Good luck to all of you. I think I'll stick with Glacier NP and Pay.Gov, which works far better.
been hiking this park 50 years. the new system is not flexible enough. major concern here is weather. 7 days out to change will not work. no refunds and says you can make any change but they CAN"T change the start date.
if you want a good reservation system, look at the washington state ferries. now there's a system
major fail by the park geared to a national audience, brought to you by Washington DC
well said and many more problems
will kill more people in bad weather