Mount Rainier National Park to begin accepting wilderness camping reservations

By The Chronicle

Beginning at 9 a.m. on March 15, prospective adventurers to Mount Rainier National Park will have the opportunity to submit online reservations for wilderness camping and climbing permits, including overnight stays on the Wonderland Trail.

For the first two weeks of the program, all requests will be processed in random order. However, beginning May 1, all requests will be processed in the same order they are received if any spaces are still available.

Last year, Mount Rainier National Park received a record number of requests from visitors hoping to hang out on the Wonderland Trail circuit, and the park ceased taking advanced reservations for the hikes on April 1. Officials are encouraging anyone with hopes of hiking the Wonderland Trail circuit this year to apply before the end of March.

New this year, the park will be charging a nonrefundable application fee of $20 per reservation request. If a reservation is approved, then no additional fees are due. Unfulfilled requests will result in a forfeiture of the fee. Those funds are supposed to go toward operations at the park’s three Wilderness Information Centers, as well as ongoing development of the new reservation system which will allow users to see campsite availability in real-time.

Applicants will be required to pay the application fee and obtain a confirmation code before submitting a reservation request. Requests to camp above 10,000 feet require an additional Mount Rainier Climbing Fee. Payments are submitted online through Pay.gov.

Additonal information can be found on the National Parks website at www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/wilderness-permit.htm.