How to get an Olympic National Park wilderness permit

The permit

An Olympic National Park wilderness permit is required for every overnight stay in the park’s wilderness, all year.

Every permit is created through Recreation.gov. You can reserve one online yourself, by phone with a Wilderness Information Center, or in person at one.

No sites within Olympic National Park are held as same-day walk-ups, and permits cannot be self-registered at trailheads.

One permit should cover every hiker in the group for the whole trip.

The rules

NPS calls some areas quota areas. In those, it keeps the number of permits for each night low, and you camp where and when your permit says, except in an emergency. Other areas still need a permit, but NPS does not give them a tight nightly limit.

The maximum group size anywhere in the Olympic wilderness is 12 people, and many camp areas have a maximum of 6. In some areas, groups of 7 or more must camp in designated group sites.

The camping fee is $8 per person per night for adults 16 and older; children 15 and under are free. Each permit also carries a $6 reservation fee. An Olympic National Park Annual Wilderness Pass, $45, covers its holder’s nightly fee but not the reservation fee. When you book on Recreation.gov, list the pass holder as a Wilderness Pass member of the group so their nights cost $0.

Cancelling three or more days before the trip refunds the camping fee but not the $6 reservation fee. Cancelling later refunds nothing.

Permits reserved more than a week ahead are issued about three days before the trip. Once yours is issued, you can print it from your Recreation.gov account.

Bear canisters are required in every wilderness camp area. Permit holders can borrow a canister for free at a Wilderness Information Center, first-come, first-served.

Building the permit on Recreation.gov

On Recreation.gov, find the Olympic National Park Wilderness Permit and choose Check Availability. Enter your dates, group size and permit type, choose a Starting Area, then add as many nights as the trip needs.

Choose the permit type Overnight unless you are travelling with stock animals.

The booking grid shows no camps until you have chosen both a group size and a Starting Area.

The grid’s Starting Areas are Staircase, Dosewallips, Hurricane, Elwha, Sol Duc, Bogachiel, Hoh, Queets, Quinault, North Coast, South Coast and PNT Thru Permit.

Each camp row carries a group-size label, such as 1-6 people, 1-12 people or 7+ people.

Camps for stock parties are listed only under the permit type Overnight with stock.

After you choose a camp for a night, the grid changes which camps it lists. A camp that cannot follow is left off the list rather than offered and refused.

Recreation.gov does not offer a camp more than 15 miles from the trailhead or from your previous camp, or more than 10 miles on the coast. To plan a day that covers more distance than that, set up the permit with a Wilderness Information Center.

A camp’s Starting Area can differ from the trail you hike. Appleton Pass is a common camp on the Sol Duc and Seven Lakes Basin loop, but Recreation.gov lists it under the Elwha Starting Area.

Pacific Northwest Trail thru-hikers have their own Starting Area, with 7 camping zones, one chosen for each night, and a $0 Layover option. The zones leave out the Sol Duc quota area and the coast north of Sand Point.

When Recreation.gov can’t build your trip

Only the sites on the Wilderness Trip Planner Map can be reserved online. Cross-country trips, such as the Bailey Range, and sites not listed on Recreation.gov are set up through a Wilderness Information Center.

If you have trouble building the trip you have in mind, contact a Wilderness Information Center.

When reservations open

Recreation.gov has two reservation seasons: summer, May 15 to October 15, and winter, October 16 to May 14.

As of this page’s review date, Recreation.gov lists April 15, 2026 as the summer season’s release date and September 15, 2026 as the winter season’s.

Some camps open later in the summer season; Recreation.gov lists their dates.

Check the NPS reservations page before you plan around a date.

How Bearpath fits

Bearpath helps you plan. Recreation.gov handles the reservation. Bearpath does not reserve campsites, hold inventory, sell permits, or guarantee that availability will still be there when you book.

Plan the trip in the planner, then reserve the same camps and nights on Recreation.gov.