Getting ready for outdoor recreation in the North Cascades National Park
Originally published in a January 30, 2024 blog by Alex Day, Marketing/Communications & Database Director, NCNPSC.
Home to some of the most remote landscapes in Washington, the rugged wilderness sanctuary within the North Cascades National Park Service Complex is the most heavily glaciated area in the United States outside of Alaska, boasting over 300 glaciers and countless cascading waterfalls and lakes. Every year, the park attracts more visitors in search of true wilderness. If you’re interested in experiencing overnight camping or backpacking in the backcountry of North Cascades National Park, you’ll want to do some advanced planning. New to the North Cascades? Learn all about the park in our park guide.
Like in Mount Rainier National Park, a wilderness permit is required year-round to camp in a designated camp or area in the backcountry. Permits for peak season can be reserved in advance at Recreation.gov and cost $26 per trip.
About 60% of backcountry sites for trips between late May and early October are available for advance reservation beginning at 7:00 am PT on Monday, May 1, 2023. Reservations must be made at least two days in advance of the trip’s start. The remaining 40% of permits are issued at the park’s Wilderness Information Center on a first-come, first-served basis and can only be requested up to one day before your trip. There is a non-refundable $6 fee for all walk-up permits (credit/debit only; cash is not accepted).
New in 2024: Starting in March 2024, the park’s backcountry permit fees have been restructured during the summer season, mid-May through early October. summer season backcountry permits will be $10 per person plus a $6 nonrefundable permit fee. There is no fee for youth 15 and under. This is a change from a $20 recreation fee per permit plus a $6 nonrefundable permit fee. Read more from the park, here.
When the Wilderness Information Center in Marblemount is closed for the winter season (usually the first week of October), self-issue permits are available outside the ranger stations in Marblemount and Stehekin, or you can submit your permit via email (find instructions here).
View of Rainbow Lake by Alex Day
Early Access Permit Lottery
Demand for wilderness camps often exceeds capacity in the summer months – especially for iconic, popular sites like those along Cascade Pass and Sahale Arm, a beautiful trail through alpine meadows that offers dramatic, panoramic mountainous scenery. That’s why the park implemented an early access lottery. Successful applicants receive a specific date and time that their early access window opens; at that point, they can create a single reservation at any time. Additional reservations can be made when the remainder is made available in May. (Note that there is a small lottery application fee that is non-refundable.)
This year, applications for the early access lottery will be accepted for two weeks beginning on March 4, 2024 and closes at 9:00 pm PT on March 15, 2024.
Lottery participants will be notified of whether or not they were selected in the lottery on March 22, 2024, and the first of the early access windows will open on March 25, 2024.
Planning Your Trip
To get started, head to the park’s Wilderness Trip Planner and check for camp and trail closures on the Trail Conditions page.
Have questions? The park’s Wilderness Information Center and wilderness rangers can be reached by email at noca_wilderness@nps.gov or by calling (360) 854-7245.
View from Sourdough Mountain by Kristen Oliphant
Activating Your Permit
When it’s time for your trip, if you have a confirmed reservation you’ll need to activate your permit. You will do this in person or remote-issued by a wilderness ranger depending on where your trip will be located. Visit this page and scroll down to find where to pick up a permit. If you’re picking up a permit in person, you will have until 11:00 am PT on the day your trip begins, otherwise it will be cancelled. The rangers will confirm the reservation holder’s photo ID, and collect an emergency contact phone number for a friend or family member not on your trip as well as the color, make, model, and license plate number of any vehicle being left overnight in the park. They’ll also share current safety, food storage, and route information, and provide you with a printed copy of your permit and a list of permit conditions. You must carry it with you throughout your trip, as rangers in the field may ask to verify it.
You can usually pick up your permit up to one day before the day of the scheduled departure. Be sure to contact the park (noca_wilderness@nps.gov) if you think you will be later than 11:00 am so your reservation won’t be opened up to walk-up permit-seekers.
Enjoy the backcountry beauty of the North Cascades!
A colorful North Cascades sky by Michael Freedman, WNPF Creative Partner
More for Backcountry Beginners
Do you prefer frontcountry over the backcountry, or not sure the difference? Curious on how the permit process works for the other parks? Check out the other published blogs in the Backcountry Beginners series:
