By Alex Day, Marketing and Communications Director
🛑 Travel Alerts: Be sure to check the park’s Alerts & Conditions page for alerts and closures that might impact your trip.
At more than 1,400 square miles, Olympic National Park offers a diverse range of terrain for visitors, from the Hoh Rain Forest to the Pacific coast and the Olympic peaks. It also welcomes nearly three million people every year, so it’s no wonder backcountry experiences away from crowds are a popular choice.
New to Olympic? Learn all about the park in our park guide.
A wilderness backpacking permit is required year-round for stays in Olympic National Park. Your permit allows you and your group to camp in a designated backcountry campsite. It must be obtained in advance of your trip through Recreation.gov, by calling the park at (360) 565-3100, or by visiting a Wilderness Information Center in person. (Self-registration permits at trailheads are not available.)
Unlike Mount Rainier and North Cascades National Parks, Olympic National Park does not offer an early-access permit lottery. Permit reservations for the summer season (May 15th through October 15th) are expected to be released around April 15, typically at 7 AM PT.
It’s a good idea to reserve your site early for the best chance of securing the location you want. (Please note: some camp areas experience seasonal and weather-related closures throughout the year. Visit Recreation.gov to learn more.)
Some high-elevation areas, such as the Sol Duc/Seven Lakes Basin, where the popular High Divide Loop trail is located, have a shorter season due to snow conditions. If you are attempting to book early-season dates that are not available online, contact the Wilderness Information Center at (360) 565-3100 (option 4).
Olympic National Park backcountry permits cost $8 per adult (16 and older) per night, are free for youth 15 and under, include a non-refundable $6 reservation fee per permit, and can alternatively be covered by an Annual Olympic National Park Wilderness Pass ($45 per person), though the reservation fee still applies. Learn more on the park’s website here.
Keep in mind that camp area availability is updated in real time on Recreation.gov, and no sites are held as same-day walk-ups.
To get started on planning your trip, download a copy of the park’s Wilderness Trip Planner Map and check the park’s Backpacking Information and Trail Conditions pages.
Some popular areas in the park operate on a quota basis to protect park resources, including Sol Duc/Seven Lakes Basin, Grand Valley, Royal Lake, Cape Alava/Sand Point, and, beginning in 2024, Enchanted Valley / East Fork Quinault (on a trial basis).
On the Olympic Wilderness Trip Planner Map, quota sites are color-coded red or yellow. At these sites, group size for overnight wilderness trips is limited to 12 people, and each camp area has a maximum group size (some are less than 12).
Have questions? The park’s Wilderness Information Center can be reached at (360) 565-3100 (option 4; visit their webpage for current hours here).
Reserved permits are issued by Wilderness Information Center staff three days before the start of your trip, at which point you will be able to log in to your account and print your permit.
If the reservation is made less than a week in advance, your permit will likely be issued on the same day during business hours or the following morning. If you need a permit before then, visit a Wilderness Information Center or contact the wilderness rangers at (360) 565-3100 and select option 4.
Enjoy the rugged Olympic wilderness!
Prefer frontcountry over backcountry, or not sure of the difference? Want to secure permits in Mount Rainier or North Cascades National Parks? Check out the other published blogs in the Backcountry Beginners series:
Looking to venture into the backcountry with your closest hiking buddies? Stay tuned in the coming days to get the scoop on the ins and outs of planning a trip with a large group.
Follow us on social to get the latest updates on when the next article of Backcountry Beginners is released!
Cover photo: Sandy Point Trail by Alex Day
Editor’s Note: WNPF updates this blog annually to reflect the current year’s permitting process.