National Parks: You May Need Advance Reservations and Permits

Above, at Manzanita Lake Campground at Lassen Volcanic National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

The days of spontaneously going to a national park without camping reservations are pretty much a thing of the past. In some cases, spontaneously just going to a park is also becoming a thing of the past.

I have gotten lucky in getting campsites at two national parks over the past few years without making any reservations: Joshua Tree National Park and Lassen Volcanic National Park.

But since the pandemic, our national parks are getting more crowded and in order to control crowd numbers to protect the parks, some are requiring reservations even to just enter the park.

That is the subject of a CNBC post.

They begin with:

National park tourism is booming. But an idyllic adventure into the great outdoors can be derailed by overlooking an important aspect of trip planning: advance permits and reservations.

Some of the most frequently visited parks require people to book ahead for access to popular attractions like heavily trafficked hikes, roads and campgrounds. Some require advance tickets for full park entry.

What this means: Travelers can’t necessarily bank on showing up spontaneously to a national park and getting the experience they desire. Fail to secure this paperwork, which is typically free but can carry a processing fee of as little as $2, and you might not even get in. Since reservations can be in high demand, it’s necessary to plan ahead.

To read more, go here.