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. As of April 2025, the Carbon River entrance to Mount Rainier National Park is closed until further notice due to the closure of the Fairfax Bridge.
Home to Washington’s tallest mountain, extending 14,410 feet above sea level, Mount Rainier National Park offers plenty of options for recreation. With nearly two million visitors to the park every year, many people seek out backcountry park experiences when they’re in search of solitude. Usually, overnight camping or backpacking in the backcountry requires some advanced planning.
New to Mount Rainier? Learn all about the park in our park guide.
To camp in the backcountry at Mount Rainier, you must get a permit first. A wilderness permit authorizes the permit holder and their group to camp in a designated backcountry campsite or area, and is required year-round. Once you’ve gotten your permit, you’ll need to activate it before you embark on your trip; more on that below.
Permits for peak season can be reserved in advance on Recreation.gov; we recommend this to maximize your chances of securing a backcountry campsite.
According to Recreation.gov, 2/3 of wilderness permits are available for advance reservation for trips between the end of May (May 1 for climbing camps and zones) and the first federal holiday in October —this year, that window is Friday, May 1, 2026 through Sunday, October 11, 2026.
The remaining 1/3 of permits are issued on-site on a first-come, first-served basis. Sites/zones become available for reservations on April 25, and reservations must be made at least two days before the trip start date.
Seeking permits outside of the reservation season? Learn more here.
Demand for wilderness camps often exceeds capacity in the summer months — especially for iconic, popular treks like the Wonderland Trail, which circumnavigates the mountain. That’s why the park implemented an early access lottery.
Successful applicants receive a specific date and time for their individual early access window to open; at that point, they can create a single reservation at any time. Additional reservations can be made once the remainder becomes available on April 25. (Note that there is a $6 lottery application fee that is non-refundable.)
This year, applications for the early access lottery will be accepted for two weeks, from 7:00 AM PT on February 10, 2026, to 7:00 PM PT on March 3, 2026.
Lottery participants will be notified of whether they were selected in the lottery starting at 7:00 AM PT on March 14, 2026, and the first early access reservations will open on March 21, 2026.
Have questions about the early access lottery or building a Wonderland Trail itinerary? Check out the park’s Wilderness Permit Frequently Asked Questions page.
Each early access lottery application or permit reservation is subject to a non-refundable $6.00 fee. (But good news: if you are successful in the early access lottery, no additional permit reservation fee is due!) The park also charges the $6 permit reservation fee for first-come, first-served permits issued in person.
There’s also a $10 per-person, per-night Recreation Fee, though youth ages 15 and under are free.
To get started on planning your trip, download a copy of the park’s Wilderness Trip Planner and check the Wilderness Alerts page.
Have questions? The Longmire Wilderness Information Center can be reached at (360) 569-6650, but is usually closed from October through April. Rangers are available from the Longmire Museum year-round at (360) 569-6575.
After you’ve secured your reservation, when it’s time for your trip, you’ll need to activate your permit. To do that, be sure to go into a ranger station by 12:00 PM PT on the day your trip begins.
The ranger will ask to 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.
Let the park know if you think you will be later than noon so your reservation won’t be opened up to walk-up permit-seekers. You can pick up your permit up to one day before the scheduled departure date.
Enjoy your Mount Rainier backcountry experience!
Prefer frontcountry over backcountry, or not sure about the difference? Want to learn how to secure backcountry permits? 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: Hiking at Mount Rainier by Nate Brown, WNPF Creative Partner
Editor’s Note: WNPF updates this blog annually to reflect the current year’s permitting process.