Anyone interested in undertaking wilderness camping, climbing or overnight trips on the Wonderland Trail in the Mount Rainier National Park will be well served to submit for a wilderness permit March 15-31.
This year’s applications will only be accepted through an online form as part of a new effort to improve and modernize the park’s reservation system.
The initial two-week application window will open on Wednesday, March 15, at 9 a.m. Applications received prior to April 1 will be processed in random order whereas applications received after that deadline will be processed in the order they were received, but only after the initial batch has been processed and awarded. Applicants will receive electronic confirmation of their reservation submissions within one business day, and additional status updates will be provided via email.
Submissions sent in by standard mail, fax, phone or any other method other than via official online submission will not be processed. Payments must also be made through an official online government portal.
Additionally, only one full-circuited Wonderland Trail trip will be processed per email address. Applicants will be allowed to include preferences for alternative trips as part of their submissions.
The National Park Service advises interested parties to use the Wilderness Trip Planner in conjunction with updates available on the Mount Rainier National Park website in order to plan their trip with the most up to date information. As has been the case in previous years, there are some campsites that will be temporarily closed due to potentially hazardous trees. The campsites are typically reopened once snow melt allows crews to access the dangerous areas.
Additional information can be found online at www.nps.gov/mora/planyourvisit/wilderness-permit.htm.
