Desperate to get into your favorite national park but don’t have the entry permit to do so? Use this hard-won insider info to beat the permit process and stroll on into these coveted outdoor spaces!
It all started with me eavesdropping on a conversation as I sifted through the women’s clothing section of my favorite climbing store in Boulder, Colorado.
“There’s just no way we’re going to get permits to Rocky Mountain for tomorrow. They’ve been sold out for weeks…”
My eyes shifted to the side with knowing and I sidled closer to the two people. I tried to look incognito as I checked prices, not really caring what the upside-down tags said because I was lit up with a certain kind of growing electric excitement that comes only with knowing something very few seemed to know:
I had insider info.
Cue the heisty vibes of Taylor Swift’s new song “I Can See You” as I inserted myself into their conversation without hesitation to say:
“Actually, you can totally nab permits to get into the park as soon as tomorrow morning, if you need to, and depending on the lengths you’re willing to go, you might not need a permit at all.”
The two people stopped and turned to me like I was a dealer of illicit info and I stared back at them with the confidence of a person who had somehow hacked the system.
We crept towards each other among the racks of women’s clothing. Trying not to look like we were organized criminals about to shoplift en masse. We tilted our heads towards each other like thieves thick with irresistible jewels of knowledge juuust within our grasp as I lowered my voice to whisper. A nervous employee slowly reached for the silent alarm until temptation made him pull his hand back because he, too, wanted in. It was as easy as that to recruit everyone in our vicinity as they were enticed by my scheme, sold by their desperation of wanting to know exactly how they could pull off what many had not yet figured out.
If you’ve been slapped with the dreaded news that you can’t get into Rocky Mountain, Glacier, Arches, or other natural spaces without a required permit in hand, here’s THE two ways to hack the system and do what it takes to access these dreamy landscapes.
1. GO PERMIT-LESS…early or late
Many, but not all, National Parks have installed entry permit programs to tackle and control the overwhelming crowds who all want to access these breathtaking places. Rocky Mountain, Glacier and Arches have installed an entry permitting system which is great in preserving these wild locations but bad for visitors who didn’t know a permit was required when making their once-in-a-lifetime trip plans.
Let’s begin by diving into the details of the entry permitting system for the park you want to access.
National Parks that participate in an entry permit system will have a season to limiting entry into the regulated park. Here are a few of those date ranges:
Rocky Mountain National Park has a timed entry permit system in place from May 26 through October 22, 2023.
Arches National Park requires entry permits April 1 to October 31, 2023.
Glacier National Park requires permits between May 26 and September 10, 2023 for west side entrances including the North Fork, Camas and West Entrance and July 1 through September 10, 2023 for east side entrances including Many Glacier, Two Medicine, and Going-to-the-Sun Road from Rising Sun.
You do not need a permit at all before or after these dates.
If you do fall within these permitted time frames, read on.
Check into the details of the daily time frames of the entry permits.
Rocky Mountain National Park, for example, allows you to enter the park on any given day, no matter what, if you can pass through the physical entrance gates BEFORE 9 a.m. or after 2 p.m. for all areas of RMNP except the Bear Lake Road Corridor.
To visit the Bear Lake Corridor of the park, you’ll have to get through the entrance gates BEFORE 5 a.m. or after 6 p.m.
Yep, I know. That is horribly early BUT seriously worth it to get a jump on the crowds, watch the sunrise and most likely get to see an astonishing number of wild animals that are also trying to experience their world sans the chaos of crowds and summer heat.
If you need the daily time frames of Glacier National Park, specifically if you want to visit the ICONIC Going-to-the-Sun Road, go HERE for full details.
If you need info on the timed entry for Arches National Park go HERE.
2. GET A LAST MINUTE PERMIT
If you need/want a permit because you can’t make it through the gates in time or don’t want to get up that early, you might be able to snag yourself a last minute permit.
But wait! The permit I need is sold out, right? I mean, that’s the reason for all this panic! There are none to be had and haven’t been available for weeks, if not months!
On Rocky Mountain’s National Park Service website, for example, waaaay down the webpage, they specifically say that “40% of available timed entry permits will be released on a first-come, first-served basis” through Recreation.gov.
So how do you get your hands on a permit if you really need one?
Here’s your strategy:
Know when the next-day permits will be released
For Rocky Mountain National Park: Entry permits are released every evening at exactly 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time for the next day. To read up on this particular info go HERE.
For Glacier National Park: Vehicle permits are available daily at 8 a.m. MST the day before your planned visit. To get all the details on availability, go HERE.
For Arches National Park: Entry permits are available one day prior to entry at 6 p.m. MST. To bring yourself up to speed, go HERE.
Be ready to grab those permits
Once you know when these next day permits will be released, you need to be ready and waiting to nab yours like you’ve made the art of getting your permits a professional, full-time job.
Here’s how:
-Go to Recreation.gov where you’ll secure your permits.
-You are required to have an account with Recreation.gov, so make sure to set yours up before permits are released.
-Once you’ve successfully set up your account, log in. Do NOT make the mistake of not being logged in until after the next-day permits have been released and waste valuable time.
-Search for the national park in which you will need permits for entry and go to their particular landing page (links provided below).
-When you’ve landed on their respective pages and read through it, you’ll need to find the permit link to actually buy yours. Click on the particular Recreation.gov timed entry permit links for all three national parks below:
The key to nabbing your permit is to do all the above steps BEFORE the clock strikes the exact time these next-day permits will be released, NOT after.
If you have this all cued up and ready to hit that Request Tickets/Buy Permits button to complete the transaction, you’ll be ahead of most people trying to do the same.
Give it a go and let me know how it works out for you!
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