Backpacking Permit Calendar for 2027
The sixteen routes in our trail guides run on twelve different permit systems, and each system opens on a separate schedule. The first window for a 2027 summer trip opens in mid-November 2026, when Yosemite starts the weekly wilderness lottery for May starts. Agencies post many 2027 dates during the winter, so a date carried over from the 2026 cycle says so, and every system below links the agency page that sets the rule.
Pick the first day of the trip to count back to the day each permit window opens, and pick a permit system to show that system alone. Dates from a 2026 pattern are estimates until the agency confirms the 2027 schedule.
Permit systems, earliest first
Yosemite wilderness permits
For the John Muir Trail, Half Dome, and the High Sierra Camps loop.
- A weekly lottery about 24 weeks ahead awards 60 percent of each trailhead's daily quota. Each lottery takes applications Sunday through Saturday, results arrive the following Monday, and winners accept and pay by Thursday.
- The lottery runs from mid-November through early May for trips from May through October.
- Leftover space goes on sale at 9:00 AM Pacific on the Friday 22 weeks ahead, and the remaining 40 percent opens at 7:00 AM Pacific seven days ahead.
- John Muir Trail hikers need a trailhead that qualifies for the Donohue Pass exit. Half Dome needs a separate permit, which backpackers from a qualifying Yosemite trailhead add at pickup.
- Fees are $10 per application and $5 per person on a confirmed permit.
Rules from Yosemite's wilderness permit reservations page, checked October 21, 2026. Confirm the exact lottery week in the park's window table before you apply.
Inyo National Forest wilderness permits
For Big Pine Lakes and the Minarets loop.
- Sixty percent of each trailhead's quota opens on Recreation.gov six months before the entry date.
- The remaining 40 percent opens at 7:00 AM Pacific two weeks before the entry date.
- Quotas apply from May 1 to November 1. The Reds Meadow Road rebuild limits reservations for the Minarets trailheads to days the road is expected to open.
- Fees are a $6 transaction fee per permit plus $5 per person.
Rules from Inyo National Forest's wilderness permits page, checked October 21, 2026.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon wilderness permits
For the Rae Lakes Loop and the High Sierra Trail.
- Reservations open six months before the entry date on Recreation.gov, released daily at 7:00 AM Pacific, and close one week before entry.
- The 2026 quota season ran May 22 to September 26. The parks had not posted the 2027 season as of October 21, 2026. Outside the quota season, permits are free and self-issued.
- Walk-up permits go on sale at 1:00 PM the day before entry during the quota season.
- Fees are $15 per trip plus $5 per person.
Rules from the parks' wilderness permits page, checked October 21, 2026.
Grand Canyon backcountry permits
For the Grand Canyon rim to rim.
- One early access lottery a month. For each start month, applications run for two weeks, from the 16th of the month five months ahead until 5:00 PM Mountain Standard Time on the 1st of the month four months ahead.
- Up to 750 applicants receive a time slot to reserve an itinerary.
- Remaining space opens to everyone at 8:00 AM Mountain Standard Time on the 1st of the month three months ahead.
- The North Kaibab Trail closed after a flash flood on August 29, 2026. Read the guide's closure notes before you plan a crossing.
- Fees are $10 per application plus $15 per person per night below the rim.
Rules from the park's backcountry permit page, checked October 21, 2026.
Zion wilderness permits
For the Zion Narrows from the top down.
- Reservations release three months at a time at 10:00 AM Mountain Time on Recreation.gov. December 5 opens January through March, March 5 opens April through June, June 5 opens July through September, and September 5 opens October through December.
- Most top-down Narrows spaces fill within minutes. Six of the twelve campsites are held for walk-up permits issued the day before or the day of the trip.
- Fees are a $20 permit fee plus $7 per person per night.
Rules from Zion's backpacking permits page and Narrows campsites page, checked October 21, 2026.
Enchantment Permit Area
For the Enchantments.
- Overnight permits are required from May 15 to October 31 and come only from Recreation.gov. Each permit names one of five zones, and the Core Enchantment Zone is the most competitive.
- The advanced lottery ran from February 15 to March 1 in 2026, with results around mid-March. The Forest Service posts each year's dates in January and says typically fewer than 10 percent of applicants win.
- A daily lottery issues a small number of permits the day before a trip to applicants near the ranger station in Leavenworth.
- Fees are a $6 application fee and $5 per person per day.
Rules from the Forest Service's Enchantments overnight permits page, checked October 21, 2026.
Mount Rainier wilderness permits
For the Wonderland Trail.
- The early access lottery opened in February in 2026. Winners get a personal booking window in March or April and may make one reservation.
- General reservations opened April 25 in 2026 for trips from June 1 to October 10.
- About a third of summer permits are held for walk-ups at the Longmire, Paradise, and White River Wilderness Information Centers, no more than a day before the trip.
- Fees are $6 per reservation plus $12 per person per night, and park entrance fees still apply.
Rules from the park's wilderness permit page, checked October 16, 2026.
Desolation Wilderness thru-hike permit
For the Tahoe Rim Trail.
- Full-loop thru-hikers need the thru-hike permit, which allows ten thru-hikers a night and two nights at most in Desolation, camped within 300 feet of the trail.
- For the 2026 season the permits went live on Recreation.gov on Friday, March 20, at 9:00 AM Pacific. The Eldorado National Forest had not announced the 2027 date as of October 21, 2026. If it keeps the third Friday of March, that is March 19, 2027.
- The quota runs from the Friday before Memorial Day through September 30. The rest of the year you still need an overnight permit, but numbers are not limited, and you can get one online or at a Desolation permit office.
- A free California campfire permit is required to use a stove.
- Fees are a $6 reservation fee plus $10 per person for two to fourteen nights.
Rules from the Eldorado National Forest's Desolation Wilderness permits page, checked October 21, 2026.
King Range wilderness permits
For the Lost Coast Trail.
- Reservations open 90 days before the entry date at 7:00 AM Pacific on Recreation.gov, on a rolling basis.
- Each person may hold one active permit at a time. In summer the King Range Visitor Center also sells walk-up permits for up to three hikers.
- The fee is $6 per permit.
Rules from the Recreation.gov King Range listing, checked October 21, 2026.
Great Smoky Mountains backcountry permits
For the Appalachian Trail through the Smokies.
- All backcountry camping needs a permit and a reservation on Recreation.gov, where permits open one month before the first night of the trip.
- Fees are a $6 permit fee plus $8 per person per night.
Rules from the Recreation.gov Smokies listing and the park's backcountry camping page, checked October 21, 2026.
Trinity Alps Wilderness
For the Canyon Creek Lakes.
- Overnight stays need two free permits and no reservation. Pick up the wilderness permit at a Forest Service kiosk, and get the California campfire permit online, since the campfire permit also covers stoves.
Rules from the Shasta-Trinity National Forest's Canyon Creek page, checked October 16, 2026.
Pasayten Wilderness
For the Pacific Crest Trail to the northern terminus.
- Fill out a free wilderness permit at the trailhead. The Pacific Crest Trail Association's long-distance permit covers trips of 500 miles or more, so a section hike from Harts Pass uses the local permit.
Rules from the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest's Pasayten PCT page, checked October 16, 2026.
The permit year, month by month
November 2026
- Yosemite's weekly wilderness lottery starts in mid-November for start dates in early May 2027.
- Inyo's six-month window reaches May 1, the first quota day of 2027, on November 1.
- Grand Canyon takes lottery applications for April 2027 starts from November 16 until December 1.
December 2026
- Zion opens January through March 2027 on December 5.
- Grand Canyon takes lottery applications for May starts from December 16 until January 1.
January 2027
- The six-month windows at Inyo and at Sequoia and Kings Canyon reach July starts.
- The Forest Service posts the year's Enchantments lottery dates.
- Grand Canyon takes lottery applications for June starts from January 16 until February 1.
February 2027
- The Enchantments advanced lottery, which ran from February 15 to March 1 in 2026.
- Mount Rainier's early access lottery for the Wonderland Trail, which opened in February in 2026.
- Grand Canyon takes lottery applications for July starts from February 16 until March 1.
March 2027
- Zion opens April through June on March 5.
- The Desolation Wilderness thru-hike permits for the Tahoe Rim Trail, which went live on March 20 in 2026.
- Enchantments lottery results, which arrived in mid-March in 2026, and the first Wonderland early access booking windows.
April 2027
- Mount Rainier's general reservations, which opened on April 25 in 2026.
May 2027
- Yosemite's last lottery weeks run in early May for starts in late October.
- Inyo quotas take effect on May 1.
June and September 2027
- Zion opens July through September on June 5 and October through December on September 5.
Every month
- Lost Coast reservations open 90 days ahead, and Smokies permits open one month ahead.
- Yosemite releases the last 40 percent of each trailhead's quota seven days ahead, and Inyo releases the last 40 percent two weeks ahead.
Questions people ask
When does the Yosemite wilderness permit lottery open for 2027 trips?
Yosemite runs a weekly wilderness permit lottery from mid-November through early May, and each week covers start dates about 24 weeks later. The first lottery weeks in mid-November 2026 cover starts in early May 2027.
When is the Enchantments permit lottery in 2027?
The Forest Service had not posted 2027 dates as of October 21, 2026. The advanced lottery ran from February 15 to March 1 in 2026, and the forest posts each year's dates on Recreation.gov in January.
How far ahead can you reserve a Sequoia and Kings Canyon wilderness permit?
Reservations open on Recreation.gov six months before the entry date, with new dates released daily at 7:00 AM Pacific, and close one week before entry.
When do Zion Narrows overnight reservations open?
Zion releases wilderness reservations three months at a time at 10:00 AM Mountain Time, on December 5 for January through March, March 5 for April through June, June 5 for July through September, and September 5 for October through December.
Sources
Every rule above comes from the agency page linked under each permit system, checked on the date shown there. Dates marked as 2026 come from the 2026 cycle, because the agency had not posted the 2027 schedule by October 21, 2026. Each trail guide carries the full permit, camping, and closure rules for that route. Agencies change permit systems between seasons, so confirm each date with the agency before you plan around the date.
Plan the trip while the permit window counts down
Every route on this calendar ships in the Backpackers Friend Trail Library as a ready-made trip, with the camps and the daily mileage already laid out on a topo map. Planning is free with no account. Premium adds offline maps so the whole route works in airplane mode, plus off-trail alerts if you drift from the line.
