Imagine you’re on a road trip, seeing signs for one of America’s national parks only a few miles ahead. Your family is excited to visit, but when you start researching the park, you realize you need a timed entry permit just to get into the park.
More and more national parks across the United States have instituted timed-entry permits or some sort of reservation process to spread out visitors and create a more wholesome experience. Due to this, it can be challenging to make a last-second trip or just less enjoyable if you don’t happen to score an entry permit.
But there is a way to circumnavigate this “issue” and enjoy full days at the National Parks, even if you happen to miss your planned entry time or forgot to book one in the first place.
Starting Your Day Early
The strategy that has a pretty high success rate and allows you to enjoy the national parks is to enter whatever area you need to before the timed entry permits go into effect. For many places, you must get into the park before 6 a.m. or 7 a.m.
This strategy works because no one works the entrance gates throughout the night, and you can just drive through. And because rangers are not checking for timed-entry permits on your dashboards (just your National Park Pass), there’s zero risk of penalty.
So yes, you have to wake up early, but if it’s not overly cumbersome for your trip, it’ll allow you to hike and enjoy the views!
I’ve done this in multiple places, primarily at Glacier National Park. Instead of waiting until 3 p.m. to get in (along with everyone else), starting your day around sunrise lets you experience the park with fewer people.
This works if you happen to have the time to spend the night in an area or can reach the park early in the morning. If you’re driving through and want to stop, try booking a last-minute reservation and speaking with rangers when you reach the park. While it’s not a guarantee, there is a chance they’ll let you into the park if it’s not too busy.
What Parks Had Timed Entry Permits in 2024?
- Arches National Park
- Glacier National Park
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- Acadia National Park
- Yosemite National Park
- Mount Rainier National Park
Before you head out for your 2025 trips, check and see what parks have timed entries for that year. Most of the parks start their timed entry system closer to spring break time and the summer, so there’s a chance you might not even need an entry time if you’re going out of peak times of the year.
