Mount Rainier Permit Guide 2026
Lottery permit · Last-minute friendly
Washington · No dogs in the backcountry
By Casey Rowan, Permit Ranger
Last updated
Mount Rainier National Park surrounds the glaciated volcano that dominates the Washington skyline, with the Wonderland Trail circling its base and dozens of trailside, alpine, and cross-country camps in between. A wilderness camping permit is required for overnight backcountry trips, covering the specific camps or zones on your itinerary. Popular Wonderland camps and summer weekends sell out quickly, so competitive dates are hard to land.
Mount Rainier issues its wilderness permits through recreation.gov, and popular passes sell out ahead of the season. The whole late-May – mid-October season goes on sale at once in late April (2026: April 25) at 7:00 AM Pacific, after the February–March early-access lottery. Cancellations reopen camps all summer. Outside the season permits are walk-up/self-registration only. Permit Ranger watches every pass here and alerts you the moment a sold-out date opens.
When permits are released
The whole late-May – mid-October season goes on sale at once in late April (2026: April 25) at 7:00 AM Pacific, after the February–March early-access lottery. Cancellations reopen camps all summer. Outside the season permits are walk-up/self-registration only.
Quota seasons: May 22 to October 12, 2026; May 28 to October 11, 2027 - off-season: Outside late May – mid-October there are no advance reservations - wilderness permits are walk-up / self-registration at ranger stations.
Your odds
Mount Rainier does not publish exact application counts, but the scale is clear. Community estimates put recent early-access lotteries above 10,000 entries, while only about 600 full Wonderland Trail circuits can be reserved in advance each season, with roughly 300 more circuits held back for walk-up permits. Treat those entry numbers as estimates, not official figures.
The lottery awards an early-access booking window, not a permit. Winners book through late March and April before the general on-sale, so by the time the whole season opens to everyone in late April, the most popular Wonderland camps on summer weekends are largely gone.
Individual camps still reopen constantly as parties change itineraries or cancel, night by night. Watching specific camps and dates for those reopenings is usually the realistic path to a full circuit booked outside the lottery.
Source: NPS Mount Rainier wilderness permit pages for circuit and walk-up counts; lottery entry totals are community estimates, not official NPS figures. Last checked July 2026.
Fees
- Reservation: $6 per reservation (non-refundable)
- Per person, per night: $10 per person per night (youth 15 and under free)
How to get a Mount Rainier permit
- Plan your itinerary by choosing the trailside camps, alpine camps, or cross-country zones you want for each night of your trip.
- If you want the best odds, enter the early-access lottery held in February and March (2026 window was February 10 to March 3).
- Otherwise, wait for the general on-sale: the entire late-May through mid-October season goes on sale at once in late April (2026: April 25) at 7:00 AM Pacific.
- Book your permit on recreation.gov, reserving each camp or zone for the nights of your planned route.
- If your dates are sold out, keep checking - cancellations reopen camps all summer, and Permit Ranger can alert you the moment a watched camp frees up.
Notable trails
- Camp Summerland and Lakes via Wonderland Trail - 4.8 on AllTrails
- Camp Muir Route via Skyline Trail - 4.8 on AllTrails
- Glacier Basin Trail - 4.8 on AllTrails
- Lake George and Gobblers Knob Trail - 4.8 on AllTrails
- Kautz to Longmire via Indian Henry's Hunting Ground - 4.8 on AllTrails
- Berkeley Park Trail - 4.8 on AllTrails
- Sunrise Rim Trail - 4.8 on AllTrails
- Indian Bar Trail - 4.7 on AllTrails
Top passes in this area
The most in-demand Mount Rainier entry points, each with its own detail page.
- Berkeley Park Camp
- Indian Bar Camp
- Indian Bar Camp (Group Site)
- Summerland Camp
- Summerland Camp (Group Site)
- Nickel Creek Camp
- Mystic Camp
- Klapatche Park Camp
Frequently asked questions
When do Mount Rainier permits open?
What if my dates are sold out?
Does Permit Ranger book the permit for me?
More permits in Washington
Permits awarded by lottery
- Angels Landing permit guide
- Glacier National Park permit guide
- Grand Canyon National Park permit guide
- Half Dome Cables permit guide
- North Cascades permit guide
- The Enchantments permit guide
- Yellowstone National Park permit guide
- Yosemite National Park permit guide
Last-minute & walk-up friendly permits
- Cedar Mesa (Bears Ears) permit guide
- Central Cascades Wilderness permit guide
- Glacier National Park permit guide
- Grand Teton National Park permit guide
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park permit guide
- Hoover Wilderness permit guide
- Indian Peaks: Last-Minute permit guide
- Inyo National Forest permit guide
Plan ahead
- Wonderland Trail Trip Builder
- Plan a Wonderland loop from Longmire
- Find the easiest Wonderland entry point for your dates
- Wilderness permit release calendar
Sold-out dates reopen all the time from cancellations and quota drops. Permit Ranger checks recreation.gov around the clock and alerts you the moment your dates open. It never books for you.