Timed Entry Tickets: 

Overcrowding Requires Advanced Planning

As many National Parks experience higher and higher visitation, timed ticketing systems have emerged as the preferred method to improve the experiences of those visitors by limiting crowds. 

Even before the COVID pandemic, America's National parks have seen increasing visitation as more and more families want to experience these national treasures. For many parks, the growing crowds, especially during peak seasons, have led to overuse of facilities, from hiking trails to parking lots to restrooms and trashcans. Especially in the face of funding challenges that reduce staff and maintenance budgets, some parks have begun to suffer damage every year, ultimately disrupting both the conservation and recreation missions of the public lands. 

Starting with Rocky Mountain National Park in 2020, a number of NPS sites have begun controlling crowds with the use of "Timed Entry" or "Advanced Ticketing" systems. The tickets are usually very low priced, but any park that requires them will almost certainly sell out in advance. While this certainly improves the experience for those who are able to secure a reservation, it does mean additional advanced planning is required when visiting any of these parks. 

Note: This article is updated as of January 1, 2026. Some park policies may have changed since that date, and the article will be updated periodically.

Types of Reservations

As of 2026, there are several different types of park access that are managed with timed entry reservation systems. These are not official park service terminology, just organizing concepts for this list:

• Park Entry: To enter the park at all on certain days requires a reservation. In some cases, only entry to a particular area of the park or through a particular entry point may be controlled. 

• Road Access: For some parks, access to specific scenic drives is limited. More precisely, it is limited at specific days and times. 

• Trail Access: Specific trails can require permits. In these cases, there are usually at least two windows to apply for a permit: one several weeks in advance, and one just a few days in advance. One or both of these application windows may be for a lottery drawing rather than a first-come, first-served reservation.

• Wilderness Permits: Many national park sites that have wilderness (or "backcountry") areas require permits to visit those areas. Generally, permits are only needed for overnight camping, unless the day use includes one of the few trails requiring a permit. At this time we have not included a comprehensive list of wilderness permits in this article, but are available to assist people with planning specific wilderness trips.

Overnight stays in parks, whether in a park lodge or camping, can also typically be reserved through the same recration.gov platform. Often, the booking window for a particular overnight stay opens up exactly 6 months (or some other time period) in advance. Others will open for a full season on a particular date. We have not made a comprehensive list of these dates here, as they can change year to year, but if you book a trip with Wandersaurus we would take care of any of these reservations for you. 

Wandersaurus cannot guarantee that we can secure any of the permits listed on this page, but with our knowledge and experience of the NPS systems, we can maximize your chances and provide alternative options if permits cannot be secured for a particular activity.

Park Entry Reservations

These are the parks that require timed tickets for access to major portions of the park at some times of year:

Arches

Arches sees its biggest crowds in spring and fall. To enter the park between April 1 and July 6, or between August 28 and October 31, you will need a ticket if you want to arrive between 7am and 4pm. Tickets are available for April through June starting on January 2 at 8am Mountain Time. After that, each month releases tickets on the 1st day of the month 5 months earlier. (July releases on February 1, August on March 1, etc.) The cost is only $2, and the tickets are good for one-hour entry windows (e.g. 7:00am - 7:59am). All official details can be found on the park website.

Limited tickets are also released the day before entry at 7pm. Additionally, visitors who enter before 7am or after 4pm can do so without a timed ticket. Note that for any early morning arrivals there can be a line at the entrance gate, so arriving at 6:55 without a ticket is not likely to work out.

Rocky Mountain

Rocky Mountain requires timed entry tickets for all parts of the park from May 23 through mid-October. There are two separate types of reservations available:

• Timed Entry needed from 9am-2pm allows access to everything in the park other than Bear Lake Road

• Timed Entry Plus is needed to access Bear Lake Road from 5am-6pm, and includes access to the rest of the park as well.

Both types of reservations become available on the first day of the month prior to arrival. May 23 - June 30 open on May 1, then all of July opens on June 1, etc., always at 8am Mountain Time. Tickets come with a 2-hour entrance window, and cost $2.

As with Arches, limited tickets are also released the day before entry at 7pm. Visitors can also enter the park before or after the timed ticket period each day, although in the case of Bear Lake Road the timed entry window is wide enough this would likely prevent an enjoyable visit. If you are camping overnight in the park, a timed entry ticket is included in your campground reservation, allowing entry at 1pm or later on your arrival day. However, if your campground is not along Bear Lake Road, entry to that area will require a separate ticket. All details can be found on the park website.

Carlsbad Caverns

While you don't technically need a timed ticket to enter the park, you do need one to go underground, which is the reason nearly everyone visits Carlsbad Caverns. Reservations are available 30 days before arrival and have been known to sell out very quickly during peak seasons. The cost is $1 per person. Tickets are good for a time window from their start time through 2:30pm. The Carlsbad park website does not have a specialized info page on timed tickets, but there are some FAQs on the recreation.gov page for the tickets.

Note that for most caves within national parks, significantly more areas of the cave are available on guided tours than on self-guided trips. Guided tours in Mammoth Cave are much more extensive than the self-guided options, and currently Wind Cave offers only guided tours. When visiting any cave within a National Park we will generally recommend reserving one or more guided tours.

Muir Woods National Monument

Parking permits are required year-round for entry, and can be made up to 90 days in advance. Permits are $9/car and come with a 30-minute arrival window. Many official sources note that there is no reliable cell or Wifi coverage in the park, so after purchase, tickets should be downloaded or printed ahead of time.

Because of very limited parking, the park also operates a shuttle bus over the summer and on holidays and weekends. 

Unlike other NPS sites, access to Muir Woods is reserved through a separate website, gomuirwoods.com. 

Great Smoky Mountains 

While not a timed entry ticket, Great Smoky Mountains has begun requiring a $5/vehicle/day parking pass. These do not have to be purchased in advance, although they can be. They can also be purchased at any of the park visitor centers. Weekly and monthly passes are also available.

What about Mount Rainier? Or Yosemite?

Some national parks, including Mount Rainier and Yosemite have, as recently as 2025, required timed entry tickets to access some areas. As of this time, neither has committed to a plan for timed ticketed access in 2026, but this decision may change in the future and we will update this page when those announcements are made. (Note that Yosemite does require permits for the Half Dome trail, described below.)

Road Access Reservations

For these parks, there are particularly high-demand scenic drives that have historically been very crowded and are now managed by a timed entry permit system.

Acadia

The road to the top of Cadillac Mountain is one of the highlights of Acadia. As such, a permit is required from mid-May through late October. There are two types available: sunrise permits and daytime permits. The summit of Cadillac Mountain is the first place to see the sunrise in the United States each day, so it's a very popular spot at dawn. Sunrise reservations have a 90-minute entry window, with specifics appropriate to the time of sunrise on that date. Daytime reservations have a 30-minute entry window, with a range of times available to reserve.

Both types of permits are $6/vehicle, and can first be reserved 90 days in advance. However, only 30% are made available that early. 70% of tickets are made available at 10am Eastern Time 2 days before the arrival date. Details can be found here.

Glacier

While there are many beautiful places to see in Glacier National Park, the Going to the Sun Road is the park's crown jewel. Crossing over the continental divide, the road features numerous scenic views as well as many high-volume trailheads. To enter the road from the western side of the park requires a timed entry ticket from mid-June through late September, and from 7am to 3pm. (Of course, outside of these months, the road is often impassable due to snow, so this is effectively a full-time system.)

Permits are only $2/vehicle and come with a 2-hour entrance window. Note that you can drive the road from the eastern entrance without a timed reservation. All details can be found on the park website.

The North Fork area of Glacier also requires a timed entry ticket. However, this area sees significantly less traffic as it is accessed only by single-lane unpaved roads. The calendar and requirements for permits are the same. Information is available at the same linked site.

Haleakala

Seeing the sunrise from the 10,023' summit of Haleakala is a bucket list item for many visitors to Maui. Unfortunately the summit area parking lot only holds about 150 cars, so ticketed reservations are required to enter the summit portion of the park between 3am and 7am, year-round.

Tickets are $1/vehicle. They are released 60 days in advance at 7am Hawaii time and are usually sold out within minutes. A second batch of tickets are released 48 hours in advance, and there are also some commercial tours that provide bus service for sunrise at the peak. Details for all options can be found here.

Note that sunset does not require a special reservation. While the eastern view from the summit parking area is famous for being directly over the volcano's caldera, sunset from the top is nearly equally stunning, and a great alternative if you aren't able to secure sunrise reservations, or you just don't want to wake up that early while on vacation.

Trail Access Reservations

Some parks have avoided all-purpose permits but have individual trails that require advance reservations to maintain safe conditions for hikers at these busy locations. In all of the cases listed, tickets do not come with a specific time window, but are good for an individual day.

Yosemite

The climb of Yosemite's iconic Half Dome is very challenging, yet remains very popular. In order to climb this peak, you have to enter a preseason lottery to secure a permit. Only 300 are issued per day, and our research suggests on average there are about 1500 applicants. Applications are accepted from March 1 to March 31, with winners notified in mid-April. There is a $10 application fee per group, and a $10/person fee for the actual permit, payable once received. More details can be found on the park website.

Zion

There are three different day hikes in Zion that require special permits.

The trail to Angel's Landing has a section with sheer dropoffs on one or both sides of the trail and metal chains bolted to the mountainside for handholds. To avoid dangerous crowds you cannot enter the chained section without a permit. As with Half Dome, there is a lottery system, but since this hike remains open year-round tickets are released for 3-month blocks, several times throughout the year. For example, the lottery for December 2025 - February 2026 took place in October 2025, so you'll want to check the official website at least 6 months before your trip to determine the lottery details relevant to you. There is a second-chance lottery window open from noon to 3pm for tickets the very next day as well. In both cases, a lottery entry is $6 for the group and you'll pay $3/hiker if you win.

The Narrows can be explored from the downstream end as a day hike without a permit, but there are two special cases that are restricted. To visit either the Subway section of the trail (on a branch from the main river channel), or to hike the full Virgin River Narrows "top-down" each require a permit with a process very similar to Angel's Landing. Tickets are released for 3-month blocks of time throughout the year, with a second batch releasing 2 days before the hiking day. Details for the Subway can be found here and for the top-down trip here. (Note that some people hike the top-down option as an overnight backpacking trip. This requires a different wilderness permit, with details available at the same link.)

Shenandoah

Shenandoah features over 500 miles of hiking trails, including around 100 miles of the famous Appalachian Trail. Nearly all can be visited without an advance reservation. The only exception is Old Rag. While not the highest point in the park, the trail is known to be uniquely challenging and rewarding, with scrambling over granite boulders required to reach a 360-degree panoramic view. 800 tickets are issued daily from March through November, with half made available 30 days in advance and the second half released 5 days in advance. Tickets are only $2. There is no lottery system, so you have to login on the right day at 10am to have the best chance of securing your tickets. Full details can be found here.

Curious about any of these parks? Want help planning a family trip that’s customized to meet the interests and abilities of your family? Reach out to us at Wandersaurus Travel and we’ll start planning your adventure today!