In order to manage expected high volumes of visitors this summer, there are several US national parks that will require reservations. Here are all of the US national parks that have reservations requirements or entry permits this summer. Plus, some insider tips for how to get national park reservations.
*** I have started to update this for 2025 as the NPS makes their announcements ***
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Which National Parks Require Reservations
Glacier National Park (updated for 2025)
Yosemite National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park (updated for 2025)
Zion National Park
Acadia National Park
Mount Rainier National Park
Haleakala National Park
Muir Woods National Monument
Arches National Park (updated for 2025)
Shenandoah National Park
Glacier National Park
Glacier National Park is a breathtaking mix of mirror-like lakes, towering mountains and stunning glacier-carved valleys.
It has one of the most famous scenic drives in US national parks, the Going to The Sun Road. This road is an absolute must-do in the park. Consequently, it is extremely popular and gets very crowded. In recent years, entry to it has often been closed for several hours a day due to the high volume of visitors.
To help alleviate this congestion and minimize crowding, the park has limited the number of people who can enter the Going to The Sun Road each day in the busy summer season.
Here is a summary of the reservation system for Glacier National Park, but for full details, read my detailed Guide to the Glacier National Park Ticketed Entry System.
Type of entry tickets/ reservations
Access to:
- the Going to the Sun Road (GTSR) at the West (Apgar) Entrance. Note that you will be able to access Apgar Village and the Apgar Visitor Center without a vehicle reservation. Reservations are valid for 1 day. NOTE: Reservations are not required at the St. Mary (east side) entrance to the Going to the Sun Road in 2025.
- the North Fork (Polebridge Entrance). Reservations valid for 1 day.
- the Many Glaciers Valley. The Swiftcurrent area of Many Glacier Valley will be closed to public access during the summer of 2025 due to ongoing construction. The closure will greatly reduce the amount of available parking in Many Glacier Valley. The park is currently researching access alternatives for the valley in 2025 and has yet to announce their final plans.
The reservations for all of these areas are separate from each other.
Reservations are needed for
Access to West Entrance to the Going to the Sun Road and North Fork area between June 13 and September 28, 2025 from 7:00AM to 3:00PM.
Access to Many Glacier is still to be determined.
How to get entry tickets/ make reservations
1) The first round of the tickets are block released at 8:00 am Mountain Time each morning 120 days in advance, on a rolling basis starting February 12, 2025 at 8:00 AM MST.
2) A small number the tickets are released at 7:00 pm Mountain Time the day before, starting June 12, 2025.
Entry tickets are only available online at the NPS reservation system or on the phone. They will not be available at park entrance stations, visitor centers or park offices. Phone reservations will be available 8:00 am – 10:00 pm MST on 877-444-6777 (toll free); 606-515-6777 (international); or 877-833-6777 (TDD).
Cost of tickets/ reservations
$2 per vehicle
Yosemite National Park
Here is a summary of the timed entry system for Yosemite National Park, but for full details, read my detailed Guide to the Yosemite National Park Reservation System.
Reservation dates
Reservations are needed for Yosemite National Park in 2024 as follows:
- April 13 – June 30, 2024: Weekends and holidays only (no reservations are needed for non-holiday weekdays during this period)
- July 1 – August 16, 2024: Every day
- August 17 – October 27, 2024: Weekends and holidays only (no reservations are needed for non-holiday weekdays during this period)
Types of reservations
There are two types of reservations:
- Full day reservations. You can enter the park any time between 5:00am and 4:00pm
- Afternoon reservations. You can enter the park after 12:00pm (noon) only.
Reservations are valid for three consecutive days starting on the day of your ticket.
When and how to make reservations
Reservations become available online for all full day reservations on January 5, 2024 at 8:00 AM Pacific Time.
After noon tickets and some additional full day tickets will be released seven days before arrival on a rolling basis. e.g., make a reservation on September 23 for an arrival date of September 30.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Here is a summary of the timed entry reservation system for Rocky Mountain National Park, but for full details, read my detailed Guide to the Rocky Mountain National Park Timed Entry System.
Type of entry tickets/ reservations
Timed entry to the national park as a day visitor.
1) Access to the whole of the park, including the main Bear Lake Road corridor between 5:00am and 6:00pm.
2) Access to most of the park but excluding the main Bear Lake Road corridor between 9:00am and 2:00pm.
Period reservations are needed for
Access between May 24 and October 20, 2025 for the Bear Lake Road Corridor and between May 24 and October 14, 2025 for the rest of the park.
How to get timed entry tickets/ make reservations
1) 60% of the tickets are sold at 8:00 am Mountain Time approximately one month in advance as follows:
- Tickets released May 1, 2025 for May 24 through June 30
- Tickets released June 1, 2025 for July (and any days in June not fully booked)
- Tickets released July 1, 2025 for August (and any days in July not fully booked)
- Tickets released August 1, 2025 for September (and any days in August not fully booked)
- Tickets released September 1, 2025 for October (October 1-20 for the Bear Lake Road Corridor and October 1-14 for the rest of the Park) (and any days in September not fully booked)
2) 40% of the tickets are sold at 7:00 pm Mountain Time the day before arrival
Entry tickets are only available online at the NPS reservation system. They will not be available at park entrance stations, visitor centers or park offices.
Cost of tickets/ reservations
$2 per vehicle (and all occupants)
Zion National Park
Angel’s Landing is one of the most iconic hikes in the United States and an incredibly popular hike in Zion National Park. The hike includes a very narrow section with steep drop offs n both sides and chains to hold on so you don’t fall. Because the hike is so popular, there has frequently been a long wait time on the trail.
In order to manage numbers and increase safety, the park introduced a permit system that operates through a lottery.
Here is a summary of the lottery system for the Angels Landing trail, but for full details, read my detailed Guide to the Angels Landing Lottery System.
Type of permits
Permits are issued for a time period, with three different time periods throughout the day. This time period is when you need to start the hike. You can take as long as you like to complete the hike once you’ve started it.
Note that permits are only required for the final 0.5 miles of the hike from Scouts Lookout to Angels landing. If you are only hiking to Scouts Lookout, you do NOT need a permit.
Period reservations are needed for
Access all year round
| Hike Dates | Lottery Opens | Lottery Closes | Permits Issued |
|---|---|---|---|
| March 1 to May 31, 2024 | January 1 | January 20 | January 25 |
| June 1 to August 31, 2024 | April 1 | April 20 | April 25 |
| September 1 to November 30, 2024 | July 1 | July 20 | July 25 |
| December 1, 2024 to February 28, 2025 | October 1 | October 20 | October 25 |
How to get permits
Permits are issued through a lottery system. There are two options:
- The seasonal lottery is held four times/ year.
- The Day Before lottery is held daily between midnight and 3:00PM MST for permits to hike the following day.
Permits are available online at the NPS reservation system.
Cost of tickets/ reservations
$6 to enter the lottery (for up to six people) plus $3 per person to get the permit if you win the lottery.
Acadia National Park
Acadia National Park is one of the most popular national parks on the east coast. The park has miles of rocky shoreline, bays dotted with islands and plenty of wooded peaks to hike.
The highest peak in the park is Cadillac Mountain. The views from the top of the mountain over the surrounding seas, islands and forests are stunning. For several months a year, this is the point at which you can see the earliest sunrise in the country. Throughout the year, it is a popular place to see the sunrise and enjoy the views throughout the day.
It’s possible to hike to the summit, but there is also a paved road open mid-April to October. A very popular road. In order to prevent overcrowding, there is now a timed entry system to access the road for most – but not all – of the time of year that the road is open.
The rest of the park is reservation-free; however a park entrance fee applies.
Here is a summary of the reservation system for Acadia National Park, but for full details, read my detailed Guide to the Acadia Cadillac Mountain Reservation System.
Type of entry tickets/ reservations
Vehicle access to Cadillac Summit Road, which goes to the top of Cadillac Mountain.
1) Sunrise reservations are required for entry in a 90-minute window starting between 4:00 am and 7:30 AM depending on the month.
2) Daytime reservations are required for entry in a 30-minute window between 6:00 AM and 8:00 PM, varying depending on the month.
Period reservations are needed for
Access between May 22 and October 27, 2024.
How to get entry tickets/ make reservations
1) 30% of the tickets are released at 10:00 AM Eastern Time 90 days in advance of each date.
2) 70% of the tickets are sold at 10:00 AM Eastern Time two days in advance of each date.
Entry tickets are only available online at the NPS reservation system. Only one sunrise reservation is allowed per vehicle every seven days and one daytime reservation is allowed per vehicle each day.
Cost of reservations
$6 per vehicle
Mount Rainier National Park
Mount Rainier National Park is centered around the beautiful Mount Rainier. Because there’s an enormous mountain in the middle of the park, there are several separate entrances that take you to distinct areas of the park. The two most popular sections of the park are Paradise and Sunrise. The roads into these areas get packed in the short summer season, so the NPS has implemented a reservation system for these areas.
Type of entry tickets/ reservations
Reservations will be needed to enter these sections between 7:00AM and 3:00PM:
- Paradise Corridor from either the Nisqually Entrance via State Route 706 or Stevens Canyon Entrance via State Route 123
- Sunrise Corridor at the White River Entrance via State Route 410
Period reservations are needed for
You need a reservation if you enter at those times between the following dates:
- Paradise: May 24 – September 2, 2024
- Sunrise: July 3 – September 2, 2024
Note that you DO NOT need reservations if:
- You enter before 7:00AM or after 3:00PM
- You have a reservation for a lodge or campground in that area. If you do, you can enter after 1:00PM on the first day of your reservation and then throughout your stay.
- You have a permit such as a wilderness or special use permit, in accordance with the terms on your permit.
How to get entry tickets/ make reservations
Tickets can be purchased on Recreation.gov or by calling 877-444-6777.
Tickets become available on the following schedule:
- To enter Paradise May 24 – July 31 become available February 21, 2024
- To enter Sunrise July 3 – July 31 become available April 1, 2024
- To enter Paradise or Sunrise August 1 – September 2 become available May 1, 2024
Some additional spaces will also become the day before at 7:00PM Pacific Time.
Reservations are for a specific time and you will have a 2-hour window to enter the park (within two hours starting at the time of your reservation).
Cost of reservations
$2 per vehicle
Haleakala National Park
Haleakala National Park has the highest peak in Maui. After watching the sunrise here, Mark Twain wrote “It was the sublimest spectacle I ever witnessed, and I think the memory of it will remain with me always.” Sunrises have been popular ever since, and to control crowding, the national park has had a reservation system for the sunrise at the summit in place for several years now.
Type of entry tickets/ reservations
Access to the summit entering between 3:00 am and 7:00 am.
Sunrise occurs (Standard Hawaiian Time) at:
January 1: 6:56 am
January 15: 6:58 am
February 1: 6:55 am
February 15: 6:48 am
March 1: 6:39 am
March 15: 6:27 am
April 1: 6:12 am
April 15: 6:00 am
May 1: 5:50 am
May 15: 5:42 am
June 1: 5:38 am
June 15: 5:38 am
July 1: 5:41 am
July 15: 5:46 am
August 1: 5:52 am
August 15: 5:57 am
September 1: 6:02 am
September 15: 6:0 6am
October 1: 6:10 am
October 15: 6:14 am
November 1: 6:20 am
November 15: 6:28 am
December 1: 6:38 am
December 15: 6:47 am
Note that the summit is about 30 minutes from the park entrance.
This is an entry ticket and not a parking ticket per se. However, the number of tickets issued for each morning matches the number of parking spaces available, so you will get a parking space. There are four parking lots and you will need to park in whichever one you are directed to by a ranger.
Period reservations are needed for
Access all year round
How to get entry tickets/ make reservations
1) Most tickets tickets are released at 7:00 am Standard Hawaiian Time each morning 60 days in advance
2) The remainder of the tickets are released at 7:00 am Standard Hawaiian Time two days in advance
Entry tickets are only available online at the NPS reservation system. They will not be available at park entrance stations, visitor centers or park offices.
Cost of tickets/ reservations
$1 per vehicle. There is a limit of one reservation per vehicle every three days.
Muir Woods National Monument
Muir Woods is home to towering redwoods. It’s close to San Francisco, and therefore very convenient to visit for many people, but if you plan to drive or take the shuttle, you should be aware of the reservation requirements.
Type of entry tickets/ reservations
Reservations are required for all car parking and shuttles.
Period reservations are needed for
Access all year round
How to get entry tickets/ make reservations
You can reserve a parking space or shuttle online here.
Cost of tickets/ reservations
Parking costs are:
- $9.00 standard vehicle
- $30.00 medium vehicle
- $45.00 large vehicle
Shuttle costs are $3.50 per adult round trip. Kids 15 and under ride free.
Note that this does not include the $15.00 per person park entrance fee, which is extra.
Arches National Park
Arches National Park is one of Utah’s Big Five parks. Home to more than 2,000 natural arches including the stunning Delicate Arch, it is extremely popular. However, there is just one road through the park and limited parking. The National Park Service (NPS) frequently closed the park, turning people away, when it got full.
Too alleviate this congestion and avoid park closures, the NPS introduced timed entry for the busiest months of the year.
Here is a summary of the timed entry system for Arches National Park, but for full details, read my detailed Guide to the Arches National Park Timed Entry System.
Type of entry tickets/ reservations
Timed entry to the national park as a day visitor. It will include all entry between 7:00am and 4:00pm.
Period reservations are needed for
Access between April 1 and October 31, 2025.
How to get timed entry tickets/ make reservations
Timed entry tickets are released in two allotments:
a) 3 months in advance
- January 2 at 8:00 am MST: April reservations (April 1–30)
- February 1 at 8:00 am MST: May reservations (May 1–31)
- March 1 at 8:00 am MST: June reservations (June 1–30)
- April 1 at 8:00 am MDT: July reservations (July 1–31)
- May 1 at 8:00 am MDT: August reservations (August 1–31)
- June 1 at 8:00 am MDT: September reservations (September 1–30)
- July 1 at 8:00 am MDT: October reservations (October 1–31)
b) The day before
A limited number of tickets will be released at 7:00 pm MDT the day before.
Cost of tickets/ reservations
$2 non-refundable processing fee
Shenandoah National Park
Reservations are now required to hike Old Rag Mountain.
Type of entry tickets/ reservations
A reservation ticket is required to hike Old Rag Mountain. This is accessed from its own entrance, not the Skyline Drive.
Period reservations are needed for
Access between March 1 and November 30, 2024
How to get timed entry tickets/ make reservations
Buy tickets online only. 400 tickets go on sale at 10:00AM EST 30 days in advance of the day of your visit and another 400 are released five days in advance. They are valid for one day only, and it does not guarantee a parking spot. Each person can buy up to four tickets at a time.
Day-use tickets for Old Rag Mountain for the 2024 season will become available February 17, 2024 at 10:00 a.m.
You are required to bring evidence (print or digital) of your ticket purchase for entry to Old Rag Mountain. The person who purchased the ticket(s) online must also present the ranger with a photo I.D. (any form of I.D. with your name and picture).
Cost of tickets/ reservations
$2 non-refundable fee (in addition to the park entrance fee).
Tips For Making Reservations at National Parks
All of these reservations will be extremely popular and will most likely book out in minutes, if not seconds. Here are some tips to help you get the reservations you want.
1. You need to have an account set up on the NPS reservation system in advance. I strongly recommend creating your account well in advance. You can do this right now! You only need to do it once, so if you have previously made a reservation at a national park for a campground or guided hike, for example, you will already have an account. If you have an account, make sure you remember your login details.
2. Be logged in to your account before the time the tickets go on sale and proceed through as much of the reservation system as possible, so you are just a click away when the tickets go on sale. Have your credit card handy. You will have 15 minutes after clicking Book Now to enter all your information and finalize the booking.
3. If you want multiple days/ reservations, be logged in under different browsers on and/or different computers.
4. If you are traveling with other people, have them be logged into their own accounts and try to reserve at the same time. Be aware, though, that all of the special entry reservations are non-refundable. If that is OK with you, you can all try and then if you manage to get more than one, cancel the extra times (you won’t get your money back, but by cancelling, you will make that space available for someone else, so if you do this, it is very important to cancel any unused reservations).
5. Have a reliable digital clock that shows the exact correct time and at EXACTLY the time the reservations become available, choose the dates and any other information required and click Add to Cart/ Request Tickets. Don’t hesitate or stop to check anything. Those few seconds may make the difference.
6. Scroll down and click on “Yes I have read and agree to the need to Know Information”. You can then either proceed to checkout or click on Continue Shopping to get an additional reservation for a different date or a reservation for a different part of the park.
6. You now have 15 minutes to make an additional reservation and/ or enter your payment information and complete your order.
7. If you miss out, try again 15 minutes after the release time. The system times out for uncompleted bookings then and additional spaces can become available.
8. If you miss out on advance reservations, check if there is another release a day or two beforehand. This is the case for some of the parks, and this gives you another chance. Note, however, that the majority of tickets are sold further in advance, so don’t rely on the last-minute releases.
9. Have a Plan B in case you miss out. There are usually plenty of awesome things to do in the areas surrounding the national parks that are usually less crowded.
10. If you get tickets/ permits, make sure you take them with you (plus ID). Do not rely on having cell service, as it is spotty in many of the parks. Print it out (the reservations page; not the receipt) or take a screen shot that you can show on your phone without needing cell service or WiFi.
Here is a simple summary of the steps to take to maximize your chances of getting a reservation for the national parks. You’re welcome to share this image on your site using this code and attribution:
NOTE: If you are entering a lottery, there is no advantage to entering earlier. As long as you enter within the lottery period, you will have an equal chance of winning, so that takes the stress out of needing to log in as soon as it opens.
Good luck and enjoy the national parks this summer!
Do you have any other tips for getting tickets for US national parks? I’d love to hear them. Join my private Facebook group National Parks Collectors and comment and let me know.
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Which National Parks Require Reservations
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About the Author
James Ian is a national park, camping and hiking expert.
He has dedicated his life to travel, visiting more than 80 countries, all 7 continents and most of the national parks in the United States. With over 35 years experience in the travel industry, James has worked on cruise ships, at resorts and hotels, and as a travel planner who’s helped hundreds of people plan successful trips to US national parks.
Based on his experience visiting our national parks multiple times, in-depth research and expertise as a travel planner, James has published detailed itineraries for most of the major national parks in the US. These itineraries, as well as in-depth park guides, comprehensive camping and hiking gear reviews and buying guides, and helpful packing lists and gift guides will help you have your own incredible trip to US national parks without stress and hassle.
As a national park expert, James has contributed to many publications, including USA Today, Time Business News, Savoteur, Best Trip, and Wired.
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