9 National Parks that Require Reservations in 2025 and How To Get Them
As another year of adventuring is beginning, national parks across the U.S. are implementing timed reservation systems in an effort towards crowd control.
The specifics of timed entries and reservations varies from park to park, and may need to be booked days or even months in advanced. This means that park enthusiasts will need to plan ahead to make sure they can get a spot on the list at some of the most popular destinations.
"If you need a reservation, we recommend making it well in advance," wrote the National Parks Service on its website.
Some of the most popular national parks that require reservations in 2025 include:
Acadia National Park
Located in in Maine, Acadia National Park is home to magnificent granite cliffs along the coastline as well as Cadillac Mountain, the tallest mountain on the Atlantic Coast. Dubbed the "Crown Jewel of the North Atlantic Coast," this national park attracted 3.9 million visitors in 2023.
Destinations like Precipice Trail, Sand Beach, Echo Lake and Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse are all popular things to do in Acadia National Park. But nothing beats watching the sunrise from Cadillac Mountain. Due to the popularity of the mountaintop views, the national park implemented a reservation system in an attempt to keep the crowds under control.
Although the dates for reservations in 2025 have not been updated yet, they are usually required from May to October and cost around $6 in addition to the entry fee. Around 30% of reservations are made 90 days in advance and the rest are released 2 days in advance at 10am. There are two types of reservations, sunrise and daytime.
Sunrise is unsurprisingly the hardest to get your hands on, so make your reservation as soon as possible. These permits allow you to get to the summit before the sunrise.
Daytime reservations are have timed entry spots throughout the day from 10am to 3pm and you must enter Cadillac Summit Road within 30 minutes of your reservation.
Purchase your reservation at recreation.gov
Arches National Park
Arches National Park, located in Southern Utah, is home to some of the most unearthly arches and natural structures. Delicate Arch, Balanced Rock, Fiery Furnace, and Devils Garden Trail are among some of the most popular sights to see, attracting over 1 million visitors each year.
The park will be reintroducing reservation requirements starting on April 1, 2025, the cost being $2 in addition to the original entrance fee. The tickets are released in monthly blocks, three months in advance. For example, if you are planning to visit Arches National Park on July 1st through 6th, tickets are available February 1st through 8th.
For more info on the schedule, visit the NPS website. To make reservations, visit recreation.gov.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
The Carlsbad Caverns is an underground network of limestone chambers in the Chihuahuan Desert of southern New Mexico. The extensive amount of stalactites and stalagmites along the maze of tunnels makes this national park a sight to behold.
With the park open year-round, it receives over 700,000 visitors anually. Due to its popularity, timed entry reservations are required. They are available all year with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day. They are released 30 days in advance, costing $1 on top of the $15 entry fee.
Learn more on scheduling and activites on the National Park Service website and purchase your tickets on recreation.gov.
Glacier National Park
If you have been to Glacier National Park, you know that the views all along the Going-to-the-Sun Road will leave your jaw on the floor. And if you haven't been yet, you should, and buckle up when you do. Known as the "Crown of the Continent," Glacier National Park is the 11th most visited US National Park, attracting around 3 million visitors each year.
In 2025, both the Going-to-the-Sun Road (West Entrance) and the North Fork will need a reservation from June 13 to September 28, 7am to 3pm. The East Entrance and Two Medicine will have free access. Be aware that there are checkpoints on each road that will require you to show your reservation permit.
The processing fee of the reservations are $2 in addition to the entrance fee and are released 120 days in advance starting February 12, 2025 at 8am MST. The remainder are available at 7pm MST the day before; however, the reservations are limited, so it's better to make them in advance.
Vehicle reservations can be made at recreation.gov, and restrictions and exemptions lists can be found on the NPS website.
Haleakala National Park
Haleakalā is an enormous volcano that takes up more than 75% of the gorgeous island of Maui. The Sliding Sands Trail, the Pipiwai Trail and the Seven Sacred Pools of 'Ohe'o brings in over 1 million visitors annually. But perhaps the most attractive thing to do in Haleakalā National Park is to watch the sun rise over the clouds at the summit.
In fact, watching the sun rise is so popular that it is the reason this national park has reservation requirements. If a reservation is not made, visitors cannot enter the park until after 7am. Reserving a spot to enter the park between 3am to 7am is $1 per ticket and can only be booked on recreation.gov.
If waking up at 3am does not appeal to you, sunset at the park is also a popular past time and is just as breathtaking, no reservation required.
Visit the National Parks Service website for more info on Haleakalā National Park.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado is home to over sixty peaks that touch the sky between 12,000 and 13,000 feet. Driving Trail Ridge Road and Old Fall River Road or hiking to Emerald, Dream, Chasm or Bearl Lake are just some of the awe inspiring past times to participate in while visiting the park.
According to the National Parks Service Website, over 4 million people visited Rocky Mountain National Park in 2023, making it the 5th most visited park that year. Due to the steady stream of visitors, Rocky Mountain requires you to obtain a permit in advance.
Reservations can be made online at recreation.gov. Daily reservations cost $2 on top of a $25 daily entrance fee or a $35 weekly entrance fee for each vehicle. Timed entry tickets are available for purchase one month in advance.
For more information about permits and their availability, visit the National Park Service website.
Shenandoah National Park
Shenendoah National Park located in Virginia, preserves part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which can be driven through on the Skyline Drive. The 105 mile-long road winds through the absurdly green mountainsides and gives you a wonderful break from reality. The park contains 500 miles of hiking trails throughout the park and attracts over 1.5 million visitors per year.
The most popular hiking destination is Old Rag, which now requires a permit to control the crowd. From March 1 to November 30 permits will be required. Each day, 800 tickets are available for purchase for $2 starting at 10am EST. Half of the tickets are released 30 days in advance, and the other 400 are released 5 days in advance. The rest of the park is ready to be explored without a reservation.
Follow this link for more info on Shenandoah National Park, and follow this link to make reservations.
Yosemite National Park
Sitting at the top of California, Yosemite National Park boasts some of the most iconic landscapes, magnificent landmarks, and exhilarating rock climbing routes in the US. As on of the most visited parks, the 3.9 million visitors in 2023 has made it necessary to implement a reservation system for the park.
Because there are so many destinations to see in Yosemite, there are two periods of time when reservations are available.
February
February is a surprisingly busy time to visit the park, due to Horsetail Falls becoming liquid gold at sunset. In order to see this other-worldly sight, visitors must have a reservation on the weekends of February 8-9, 15-17, and 22-23, 2025. The reservations are valid for seven consecutive days and are required even if you don't intend to visit the falls.
For these early reservations, half of them became available in the fall, but the rest will become available for purchase two days before to the reservation date at 8am Pacific time. Visit the National Parks website for more info on Horsetail Fall Reservations.
Peak Season
Although the official 2025 dates haven't been released yet, reservations to enter the park are typically required from April through October, weekends or daily depending on the month. Most tickets are released sometime at the beginning of the year, but the remainder will be released seven days before the arrival date. You can keep an eye on updates at recreation.gov.
Reservations are $2 and last for 3 consecutive days.
If you have lodgings within the park or a wilderness/Half Dome permit, or rentals in Wawona, Yosemite West or Foresta, no reservations are required to enter the park.
Half Dome
For those who are planning to hike Half Dome, you will need a permit. They are given through a lottery system, which is a bit hit or miss, but you can get more info on that here.
Zion National Park
Zion National Park is ranked at third most visited park in 2023, bringing in 4.6 million visitors. Hiking Angels Landing, Observation Point, Emerald Pools, Weeping Rock, Canyon Overlook and the Zion Narrows are all popular tourist activities. However, reservations will need to be made if you are planning on taking on Angels Landing, the Subway and the Narrows.
Angels Landing
Perhaps the most popular hike in Zion National Park is Angels Landing. It's steep ledges, narrow trails and chain crossings make it an exhilirating, albeit nailbiting experience.
Permits for this hike are necessary all year and are awarded by lottery seasonally and the day before. To enter the application, it costs $6 and an additional $3 per person will need to be paid if you win a spot.
For info on dates and lottery info, visit the National Parks Service website.
The Subway
A wilderness permit is required in order to hike the Left Fork of the Subway from April to October. Like Angels Landing, permits are awarded through lottery 2 months in advance. For more details, visit this site.
The Narrows from the Top-Down
The Narrows are another popular hike and can be traveled two ways: from the bottom-up or the top-down.
No permit is required if visitors are exploring the Narrows from the bottom to the top, which is the most common route. Going from the to-down is another story. The route is a 16-mile journey along the Narrows and can be done as one day hike or as a 2-day backpacking trip. Both methods require a wilderness permit, available 2 months in advance.
It is important that you keep an eye on the reservation dates and make a note of when they will be available so you can take your spot and visit your chosen park without a hitch. If you can't manage to get a timed entry pass, most parks will still allow you to enter the park early or late in the day.
Be aware that a permit or reservation does not guarantee that there will not be a line. Play it smart but don't be discouraged if things don't go according to plan, there are still plenty of amazing things to see and do at each national park you go to.