Mount Rainier National Park hiking reservations now online only. Here’s how it works

Booking a trip at one of Washington’s national parks is just a click away as Mount Rainier shifts to a fully online reservation system for the 2021 hiking season.

Mount Rainier National Park gets about 7,500 requests for climbing and backpacking trips each year, with 2,700 of those requesting a trek on the park’s popular Wonderland Trail, according to a release from the National Park Service. But the park can only accommodate 600 to 700 reservations for that trail during peak hiking season.

Mount Rainier has offered reservations for camping and climbing for more than 20 years, but with the shift to fully online reservations this year, visitors can have “greater control over their itinerary and earlier notification of a confirmed trip,” according to the release.

One-third of all available sites will offer “walk-up reservations throughout the summer.”

“Visitors to the Mount Rainier Wilderness have the opportunity to travel through a wild and largely undeveloped backcountry environment,” Tracy Swartout, the park’s acting superintendent, said in the release.“We are excited to embark on this pilot project which attempts to improve the process for obtaining backcountry camping reservations within the park.”

The peak season for hiking is between June 1 and Sept. 30. Visitors can book reservations and plan trips using Recreation.gov.

Between March 2 and March 14, guests can apply for the Early Access Lottery by going to the Mount Rainier National Park page on Recreation.gov. Successful applicants will get an assigned date and time to book their reservation online during the Early Access period between March 22 to April 21.

General access for reservations will be available between April 27 and Sept. 28.

This story was originally published February 18, 2021 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Mount Rainier National Park hiking reservations now online only. Here’s how it works."