This National Park Just Became the Latest to Require Reservations

As more and more people visit national parks across the country, the National Park Service has had to adapt its entry system to ensure the preservation of our precious outdoor spaces. To go to some of the most popular national parks, people are required to make a reservation in advance so that visits are staggered throughout the day, and another well-traveled park just joined that list. 

The NPS announced that it will begin requiring timed-entry reservations for two popular areas of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington later this spring. Starting May 24, visitors will need a reservation to enter the Paradise Corridor through the park’s Nisqually or Stevens Canyon entrances from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; beginning in July, visitors entering the Sunrise Corridor through the White River entrance will also need to have a reservation. Reservations cost $2 per vehicle on top of the usual park entrance fees and will be valid for a two-hour window. The program runs through Sept. 2 when the summer season begins to die down. 

The NPS noted that Mount Rainier has seen a 40-percent uptick in visitors over the past decade. As a result, it had to implement a timed-entry program similar to those used in other national parks to prevent “overcrowding during the summer and damage to fragile ecosystems.” Other national parks that have been using this system include Glacier, Arches, Yosemite, Rocky Mountain, Zion, and Muir Woods. 

“In recent years, it’s been too common for visitors to sit in idling cars for a couple of hours at the entrance stations and then make laps through the parking lots hoping for an empty parking space,” Superintendent Greg Dudgeon said. “We are testing a system that will spread visitation out throughout the day and season to reduce crowding.”

If you’d like to get your spot ready for the summer, bookings for Paradise Corridor will open Feb. 21, while reservations for Sunrise Corridor will be available starting April 1.