You'll need a reservation to climb up into the arches at Arches National Park most of the time this summer/NPS, Chris Wonderly

Editor's note: This updates to clarify that those holding reservations lodging or camping reservations in parks won't need to obtain a reservation to enter the park. 

Summer's growing visitation to the National Park System has led to crowds that some parks are trying to manage through various reservation systems. Here is a list of parks that will require a reservation to visit during prime time this year. However, if you have a previous lodging, camping, or activity (e.g., horseback tour) reservation in a park, you won't need to obtain an entrance reservation. You likely will have to show proof of that other reservation, though.

Acadia National Park, Maine

You won't need a reservation to visit most of the park, but if you want to see the sights from the summit of Cadillac Mountain, you'll need one from May 25 through October 22 if you hope to drive to the summit. Here's how to get it:

• Vehicle reservations cost $6. They are sold online in advance at Recreation.gov. They are not available for purchase at the park.
• Thirty percent of vehicle reservations are made available 90 days ahead of each date. The remaining 70 percent are released at 10 a.m. ET two days ahead.

• Print or save a digital copy of the vehicle reservation with the confirmation code, which will be scanned to verify the reservation. Connectivity is unreliable in the park.

• Visitors must have a park entrance pass to enter the park in addition to purchasing a vehicle reservation for Cadillac Summit Road. Park entrance passes are available at the park or online at Recreation.gov.

You can avoid the reservation, and enjoy a much more leisurely approach to gaining the summit, by hiking there. Choose to get there via the South Ridge of Cadillac Mountain Trail and you're looking at a 7.4-mile roundtrip walk through piny forests, one with gorgeous views out into Frenchman Bay and the Porcupine Islands.

This hike takes you through cool conifer forests and up onto the mountain's granite shoulders with great views of the bay and out into the Gulf of Maine. While park officials rate this route as "strenuous," if you don't try to race to the top it's not difficult at all. There are great expanses of granite once you start to clear the forest where you can sit a while and have a picnic, and, of course, enjoy stunning views.

Arches National Park, Utah

Long lines of traffic backed up at this park's entrance station led to the decision to try a reservation system this year. The pilot will run from April 3 to October 3. Visitors can, for $2, book reservations first-come, first-served on Recreation.gov.

The park will release reservations three months in advance in monthly blocks. On January 3, reservations opened for April 3 through April 30. On February 1, reservations opened open for the month of May and any remaining reservations that have not been booked for April. Additional months will continue the same pattern according to following schedule:

• April reservations (April 3–30) open January 3.

• May reservations (May 1–31) open February 1.

• June reservations (June 1–30) open March 1.

• July reservations (July 1–31) open April 1.

• August reservations (August 1–31) open May 1.

• September reservations (September 1–30) open June 1.

• October reservations (October 1–3) open July 1.

After booking a reservation, you'll receive a Timed Entry Ticket. Timed entry tickets will be required to enter the park from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. MT daily and will allow visitors to enter the park during a one-hour specified window of availability. After entering, visitors may stay in the park as long as they wish for the remainder of the day. Reservation holders may exit and re-enter the park on the same day with a correctly validated ticket.

You can, of course, avoid this by either showing up before 6 a.m. or after 5 p.m. when you don't need a reservation during the trial period.

Glacier National Park will require reservations if you want to drive the Sun Road/Rebecca Latson

Glacier National Park, Montana

You'll need a reservation to reach the heart of the park along the Going-to-the-Sun Road as well as the North Fork area during the high summer season. This will be the second year of the pilot ticket system in the park, designed to manage high traffic volumes and reduce gridlock. Reservations are expected to be needed between May 27 through September 11. Under the plan:

• One ticket per vehicle will be required to enter the Going-to-the-Sun Road at the West Entrance, St. Mary Entrance, and the new Camas Entrance.
• A ticket per vehicle will also be required at the Polebridge Ranger Station to visit the North Fork area of the park.
• The GTSR and North Fork tickets will be two separate tickets. The park anticipates a portion of tickets becoming available by early March. Like last year, visitors will need to set up an account on Recreation.gov to obtain tickets. Although the park does not charge for the tickets, Recreation.gov charges a $2 nonrefundable service fee.
• Tickets will not be required at the St. Mary Entrance prior to the full opening of the GTSR, typically in late June. Once snow removal and road preparations are complete and the road opens to vehicle traffic to Logan Pass, tickets will be required at the St. Mary entrance through September 11, 2022.
• The park will offer three-day tickets for GTSR rather than the seven-day ticket offered last year, and one-day tickets for the North Fork.

The Apgar and Sprague Creek campgrounds will require advance reservations, in addition to Fish Creek and St. Mary campgrounds. Reservations will be available on Recreation.gov. Rising Sun and Avalanche campgrounds will remain first come, first served. The park anticipates all campgrounds to be operating in 2022.

One of the main attractions of Haleakalā National Park -- sunrise from the summit -- comes with a reservation/NPS file

Haleakalā National Park, Hawai'i

If you want to catch sunrise from the roof of Haleakalā, you'll need to make a reservation ahead of time through recreation.gov.

• Reservations, which cost $1, can be made online up to 60 days in advance of your sunrise visit on recreation.gov and are only valid for the day reserved. These tickets are released at 7 a.m. HST.
• A portion of reservations for any given day will be released two days in advance
• A visitor may only purchase one sunrise reservation per three-day period.
• Upon arrival, please have the reservation holder present with valid ID, reservation confirmation email, and your park pass or a way to purchase one.
• Reservations will not be refunded or exchanged due to weather.
• For questions, call the recreation.gov help line at 1-877-444-6777.

Muir Woods National Monument, California

This popular monument north of San Francisco has required reservations for both personal cars and shuttle rides since 2017. During the park's operating hours you'll need a permit to park and you'll need to pay the park entrance fee. You can get both at gomuirwoods.com.

Parking fees run from $9 to $45 depending on the size of your rig and the entrance fee is $16 per adult (16 and older), while shuttle rides (weekends only) are $3.50 per adult (16 and older) with those 15 and younger free.

Elk don't need reservations to visit Rocky Mountain National Park, but you will this summer/Kurt Repanshek file

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Park-wide timed entry permit reservation systems were piloted in 2020-2021, and the park will be using a similar system this year from May 27 through October 10. One reservation will be good to access the Bear Lake area and the rest of the park, and another will gain you access to the rest of the park separate from the Bear Lake corridor.

The reservation window for the Bear Lake corridor runs from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. MT daily, while the window for the rest of the park runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. MT. Permits issued using the recreation.gov reservation system will allow park visitors to enter the park within two-hour windows of availability. The reservation system will apply to all areas of the park.

Reservations will be needed beginning May 27. They will go on sale through www.recreation.gov at 10 a.m. Mountain Daylight Time on Monday, May 2. This round of reservations will be available to enter the park from May 27 through June 30. The next release will occur on June 1, for the month of July and any remaining days that have not been booked for June.

On July 1, reservations will be available for the month of August and any remaining days that have not been booked for July. On August 1, reservations will be available for the month of September and any remaining days in August that have not been booked. On September 1, reservations will be available for October and any remaining days in September that have not been booked.

Initially, 30 percent of permits will be held and available for purchase the day prior at 5 p.m. through recreation.gov. These are expected to sell out quickly and visitors are encouraged to plan ahead when possible.

To enter the park during the summer season will require two things:

• A Timed Entry Permit or a reservation with a service, such as an in-park camping reservation, horseback riding reservation, or commercial tours (Service Reservation)
• Plus a Park Pass or entrance fee receipt for your vehicle.

Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Crowds impacting the visitor experience and fragile natural resources have Shenandoah National Park officials turning to a reservation system trial to control access to Old Rag.

Beginning in March, those who hope to use trails in the Old Rag area (Saddle, Ridge, and Ridge Access) from March through November will need a day-use ticket for the area. The year-long pilot is intended to help the park staff evaluate and possibly adopt a permanent system in the future.

The first batch of tickets went on sale February 1. Tickets can be purchased on this site up to 30 days in advance. Beginning March 1, all visitors to Old Rag must have a day-use ticket in addition to a park entrance pass.

Availability of the $1 tickets will be limited to 800 per day.

Washington Monument, District of Columbia

Tickets for the Washington Monument are currently available online from recreation.gov; there is no onsite distribution of tickets. There are no walk up or "day-of visit" tickets available at this time.

Tickets become available daily at 10 a.m. ET for the next day’s visits (for example, if you are planning to visit on Oct. 5, you can reserve tickets at recreation.gov beginning at 10 a.m. on October 4). An individual may reserve up to six tickets per day. Each visitor over the age of two must have a ticket. There is a non-refundable reservation fee of $1 per ticket. Please note that demand for tickets is extremely high and all tickets for a day are routinely distributed in a few minutes.

Be sure you punch your reservation before you hike Angels Landing in Zion National Park/NPS file

Zion National Park, Utah

You won't need to obtain a reservation to enter Zion, but you will if you want to hike to the top of Angels Landing. Visitors can get a permit by entering seasonal lotteries or a different lottery the day before their planned hikes. It will cost $6 to enter any of the lotteries, and successful permit holders will also have to pay a $3 per person fee. These funds will cover costs to manage the lotteries and for additional rangers who will assist visitors and check permits on the trail. Learn when and how to enter the lotteries at this site.

This is a pilot program, and the Park Service plans to monitor the operation and adjust it as needed. 

Camping Reservations

More and more parks are requiring reservations for camping (front country and backcountry) and most require you to go through recreation.gov. The best way to find these is to go to recreation.gov, and in the upper right-hand search panel put in the name of your park and "camping" or "backcountry camping."