Central Cascades Wilderness Permits are available within a 7-day rolling window, reservable at Recreation.gov in what is termed a 7-day rolling window. The majority of overnight permits (60%) and day use permits (50-80%) will be available through the 7-day rolling window permit reservation.
The 7-day rolling window releases permits daily, for trips starting in 7 days. For example, if you want to go on a hike on July 8, permits for that day become available at 7 a.m. on July 1. With the permit season beginning on May 28, 2021 permits for May 28 will open tomorrow. Permits within a period of 7-days out will become available every day at 7 a.m. following tomorrow morning.
For overnight trips, only the start date of a trip needs to be within the 7 days. For example, for an overnight trip starting July 8, you can reserve your permit for the entire trip starting July 1. Once you select July 8 as the start date, the calendar will make the next 14 days available for you to reserve as part of that trip.
The permit system begins the Friday before Memorial Day (May 28, 2021) and ends on the last Friday in September (Sept. 24, 2021). Wilderness permits are required for all overnight use in the Mt. Jefferson, Mt. Washington, and Three Sisters wilderness areas. Day-use permits are required on 19 of the 79 trails into those same three wildernesses.
To find the permits put Central Cascades Wilderness into the search bar on Recreation.gov and all permit options for day-use or overnight use will show. There is a $1.00 processing charge for day-use permits per individual and a $6.00 processing charge for overnight-use permits per group. An overnight group can be from 1 to 12 people. People should read information on the site carefully and note that for overnight trips every day you want in the wilderness must be clicked before buying the permit, like making hotel reservations on-line.
All reservations must be made through Recreation.gov either on-line, by calling (877) 444-6777 or TDD Line at 877-833-6777 from 10 a.m. – 12 a.m. (Eastern Time Zone). People may go to a Willamette or Deschutes National Forests office to reserve a permit. However, currently Forest Service offices are closed due to COVID-19 and people should call an office ahead of going. For more information about the permit system and planning a wilderness trip, people should go to: https://bit.ly/2Pl8jtT.
