By: Alex Day, Marketing/Communications & Database Director
Home to some of the most remote landscapes in Washington, the rugged wilderness sanctuary within the North Cascades National Park Service Complex is the most heavily glaciated area in the United States outside of Alaska, boasting over 300 glaciers and countless cascading waterfalls and lakes. Every year, the park attracts more visitors in search of true wilderness. If you’re interested in experiencing overnight camping or backpacking in the backcountry of North Cascades National Park, you’ll want to do some advanced planning. New to the North Cascades? Learn all about the park in our park guide.
Like in Mount Rainier National Park, a wilderness permit is required year-round to camp in a designated camp or area in the backcountry. Permits for peak season can be reserved in advance at Recreation.gov and cost $26 per trip.
About 60% of backcountry sites are available for advance reservation for trips during peak season. Reservations must be made at least two days in advance of the trip’s start. The remaining 40% of permits are issued at the park’s Wilderness Information Center on a first-come, first-served basis and can only be requested up to one day before your trip. General On-Sale period for reservations opens at 7 AM PT on April 29, 2025. There is a non-refundable $6 fee for all walk-up permits (credit/debit only; cash is not accepted).
🌲 The park’s backcountry permit fees have been restructured during the summer season, mid-May through early October. Summer season backcountry permits will be $10 per person plus a $6 non-refundable permit fee. There is no fee for youth 15 and under. Read more from the park.
When the Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount is closed for the winter season (usually the first week of October), self-issue permits are available outside the ranger stations in Marblemount and Stehekin, or you can submit your permit via email (find instructions here).
Demand for wilderness camps often exceeds capacity in the summer months – especially for iconic, popular sites like those along Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm, a beautiful trail through alpine meadows that offers dramatic, panoramic mountainous scenery. That’s why the park implemented an early access lottery. Successful applicants are granted early access to reservations, with the earliest access offering the most options to secure permits. Lottery participants with later access might not have access to their preferred itinerary but can create an alternate trip using available camps. Additional reservations can be made when the remainder is made available in May. (Note that there is a small lottery application fee that is non-refundable.)
Early-Access Lottery applications will be accepted anytime between March 3, 2025 and 9:00 PM PT on March 14, 2025.
Lottery participants will be notified of whether or not they were selected in the lottery on March 21, 2025, and the first of the early access windows will open on March 24, 2025 and close on 9 PM PT April 21, 2025.
To get started, head to the park’s Wilderness Trip Planner and check for camp and trail closures on the Trail Conditions page.
Have questions? The park’s Wilderness Information Center and wilderness rangers can be reached by email at noca_wilderness@nps.gov or by calling (360) 854-7245.
When it’s time for your trip, if you have a confirmed reservation you’ll need to activate your permit. You will do this in person or remote-issued by a wilderness ranger depending on where your trip will be located. Visit this page and scroll down to find where to pick up a permit. Reserved permits must be picked up by 11:00 AM PT on the start date of the trip, or the reservation will be cancelled. The rangers will confirm the reservation holder’s photo ID, and collect an emergency contact phone number for a friend or family member not on your trip as well as the color, make, model, and license plate number of any vehicle being left overnight in the park. They’ll also share current safety, food storage, and route information, and provide you with a printed copy of your permit and a list of permit conditions. You must carry it with you throughout your trip, as rangers in the field may ask to verify it.
You can usually pick up your permit up to one day before the day of the scheduled departure. Be sure to contact the park (noca_wilderness@nps.gov) if you think you will be later than 11:00 am so your reservation won’t be opened up to walk-up permit-seekers.
Enjoy the backcountry beauty of the North Cascades!
Do you prefer frontcountry over the backcountry, or not sure the difference? Curious on how the permit process works for the other parks? Check out the other published blogs in the Backcountry Beginners series:
Follow us on social to get the latest updates on when the next article of Backcountry Beginners is released!
Cover photo: A colorful North Cascades sky by Michael Freedman, WNPF Creative Partner
Editor’s Note: WNPF updates this blog annually to reflect the current year’s permitting process.