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Reservations For Backcountry Use Coming To North Cascades National Park

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By NPT Staff - December 9th, 2016

Copper Ridge is a popular backpacking trip within North Cascades National Park/NPS

With walk-up backcountry permits tougher to come by as visitation has increased, North Cascades National Park recently announced that it will launch a pilot program in the spring to accept reservations for popular areas.

Crowded trails and full campgrounds have greeted visitors to the park, which is three hours outside Seattle on the Canadian border. When all the first-come, first-served permits were exhausted, visitors could be turned away from certain areas after making the long trip to the park complex, which includes North Cascades National Park, Ross Lake National Recreation Area, and Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.

“We have been listening! Backcountry visitation has been increasing for the past several years and permits have become more difficult to obtain in certain parts of the North Cascades National Park Service Complex,” the park said on its website, noting that more information will be available in February. “We are pleased to announce that we anticipate starting a pilot program this spring to allow reservations for a portion of the most popular areas of the park.”

From coast to coast, reservation and quota systems are being implemented as the National Park Service faces record visitation. In Maine, Acadia National Park is developing a transportation plan, with a reservation system and car quotas on the table. Last month, Haleakala National Park in Hawaii announced it will require reservations to view sunrise from the mountain’s summit.

At North Cascades, areas under consideration for reservations include Ross and Diablo lakes, the East Bank Trail, camps in the Cascade Pass area (including Sahale Glacier Camp), Copper Ridge, the lower Stehekin Valley, and high-use climbing areas such as Boston Basin, Eldorado, and Mount Shuksan. Some campsites in all areas of the complex, whether a reservation is available or not, will be set aside for free, walk-up permits.

Currently, free permits are required year-round for overnight stays in the backcountry. However, they were only available in person, no earlier than the first day of the trip, and first-come, first-served. The park said the reservation system will require a fee to be charged for “cost recovery.” At Haleakala, the “free” permit to view sunrise costs $1.50 via recreation.gov.

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