America’s protected lands may be for all—but in 2023, national park reservations are very much a thing. Timed entry passes have helped with overcrowding but the new system has created winners and losers
At 7:59 a.m. Mountain Time on the first day of March, people across the world hovered over keyboards and smartphones, ticking away the seconds until Glacier National Park released its block of coveted reservations for entering the park during July. The clock hit 8 a.m., setting off a mad race to click Book Now on the recreation.gov vehicle reservations page. The quickest fingers would score a pass to explore the Montana park’s pristine lakes, sheer peaks, and beargrass-dotted meadows in the high summer season.
Those spots went fast. The remote North Fork area in the park’s northwestern corner sold out within 10 minutes. Glacier’s stunning main thoroughfare, Going-to-the-Sun Road filled completely in half an hour. Some people got lucky that day but many more came away disappointed including Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke who tweeted about his failure to land a reservation.
While backcountry hikers and river runners have long dealt with the difficulty of nabbing permits for high-demand destinations, casual travelers haven’t had to wrestle for reservations simply to enter a national park—until recently.
Is ticketed entry a solution to overcrowding?
After years of struggling with record-breaking visitation and crowding, three parks rolled out pilots of so-called managed access systems to stem the tide. California’s Yosemite National Park instituted a day-use reservation system for 2020 through 2022 (No reservation system for 2023 while the park works on long-term planning); Glacier and Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park introduced theirs in 2021 followed by Arches in 2022. A handful of other parks require reservations to visit specific locations like Cadillac Summit at Acadia and Angel’s Landing at Zion.
Each parks’ rules are different and for many confusing. Pass requirements vary by date and location within a park and are valid in some places for one day and in others for three days. Parks release a percentage of passes months in advance but reserve a portion for the day before (see info below). Successfully planning a summer trip is an experience Alex Kim, founder of Here Montana, likens to “cracking the code.”
But few dispute that these parks had to do something. Starting with the National Park Service’s Centennial in 2016 and skyrocketing with the COVID pandemic, park visitation numbers have increased to record numbers. “We’re seeing unprecedented levels of sustained demand in a lot of these parks,” says Will Rice, an assistant professor of parks, tourism, and recreation management at the University of Montana who studies reservation systems.
“The parks belong to the American people and there’s no substitute for being in a national park,” says Scott Gediman, public affairs officer for Yosemite. But “when you’ve got two-and-a-half hours waiting in line to get in, then you get there and shuttle buses are packed and there are long lines for food, it’s just not a good experience.” Add environmental damage caused by trampling feet and illegal parking and the problem compounds. Enter what Rice calls the rationing of recreation.
For those who do get a reservation, most say managed access leads to a much better trip. Park representatives are quick to note that they’re not trying to reduce visitation, just spread it out throughout the day and the season. All three parks succeeded in that: Since implementing their systems, Glacier, Rocky Mountain, and Yosemite have seen lines at entrance stations and shuttle buses dwindle, parking ceases to be a competitive sport, traffic gridlock ease, and people enjoying their experience more.
“We have done a survey of people who got reservations,” says John Hannon, Rocky Mountain’s management specialist. “They’re very supportive of timed entry once they’ve experienced it.” Yosemite visitors reported similar sentiments. “And anecdotally, a lot of people were seeing more wildlife,” notes Gediman.
The downside to ticketed entry
But limiting access, even if only during peak hours, necessarily leaves some people out. Under these systems, a certain type of visitor is more likely to snag the golden ticket. At the very least, it’s someone who plans well in advance. But also it’s someone with high-speed internet and a credit card, a job that allows for vacation planning months ahead, and familiarity both with recreation.gov’s reservation platform and the English language (recreation.gov is only available in English, though it does provide a how-to on using Google Translate).
Making parks accessible to all
Part of the solution might lie in creating more ways to nab a reservation. “We need to expand the idea of how we ration these things,” says the University of Montana’s Rice. “People have different preferences and needs when it comes to how they want to gain access to these highly demanded recreational resources.”
Park officials say they’re well aware of these issues and continually tweak their systems to help all potential visitors get a fair shake. For this year, Rocky Mountain upped the number of reservations that go live 24 hours ahead of time—rather than months ahead—to better accommodate spur-of-the-moment travelers. And all three parks required reservations only during the busiest hours so anyone can come in without an advance booking before, say, 9 am or after 3 pm.
There are more strategy ideas on the table, too. Hannon says Rocky Mountain is considering setting aside some tickets for local retailers to sell in person reducing the system’s reliance on recreation.gov; hotel operators near Yosemite have requested a similar setup for their guests.
Rice suggests the parks also look into implementing a lottery or even using license plates to determine who can enter on a given day as Yellowstone did in 2022 after flooding shut down portions of the park.
Visitors can be grateful that at least one other crowd-control tactic won’t be considered: raising entry fees. Unlike amusement parks and ski resorts that use demand-based systems to jack up prices during particularly popular times, national parks belong to everybody.
Like it or not, the days of spontaneously driving up to one of these national parks on a summer Saturday morning are probably over.
WHAT TO KNOW
Yosemite National Park is not implementing a reservation system for summer 2023. But here’s how to book at three of the most popular national parks that will require reservations this year.
Glacier National Park
Vehicle reservations are required between 6 am and 3 pm from May 26 to September 10 on North Fork Road and Going-to-the-Sun Road from the west side of the park and between July 1 and September 10 for all other park roads and Going-to-the-Sun Road from the east side. Going-to-the-Sun Road passes are valid for three days; the others last one day.
Cost: $2 processing fee (does not include park entry fee)
Release dates: The park releases a block of August reservations on April 1 and September reservations on May 1, both at 8 am Mountain Time. Additional reservations go on sale at 8 a.m. the day before your intended visit. Reserve at recreation.gov.
Tip: Visitors with reservations at a park campground, hotel, or outfitter, or with backcountry camping permits, do not need an entry permit.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Reservations are required from May 26 to October 22. There are two types: Bear Lake Corridor entry permits are required between 5 am and 6 pm while “rest of the park” entry permits are required from 9 am to 2 pm. All are issued to enter the park during a specific two-hour window. Reservations are valid for one day.
Cost: $2 processing fee (does not include park entry fee)
Release dates: The park releases a block of August reservations on July 1, September reservations on August 1, and October reservations on September 1, all at 8 am Mountain Time. Additional reservations go on sale at 5 pm the day before your intended visit. Reserve at recreation.gov.
Tip: Visitors with reservations at a park campground, hotel, or outfitter, or with backcountry camping permits, do not need an entry permit.
Arches National Park
Beginning April 1 and continuing through October 31, Arches National Park will require visitors that want to enter the park during peak hours (7 am to 4 pm) to have a timed-entry pass. This pass is in addition to the park entrance fee everyone pays when they drive through the entrance of the park. Without your timed-entry pass, you will not be able to get into the park.
Release dates: The park releases a block of August reservations on May 1 and September reservations on June 1, both at 8 am Mountain Time. A small number of reservations will be available at 6 pm on the day before your intended visit. There’s no guarantee you’ll get one of these limited passes, so be sure to have plan B ready to go into effect if you don’t get a pass.
Tip: Reservations aren’t required if you have a camping reservation, are on a commercial tour, have a special use permit or are a Fiery Furnace ticket holder.
Worth Pondering…
The national parks in the U.S. are destinations unto themselves with recreation, activities, history, and culture.
—Jimmy Im