National Park Reservations Checker: What to Book
Tick the parks on your trip and add your dates: which need a timed entry, a permit, a ticket or a parking tag, and when booking opens.
11 parks · 2026 season
8 of your 11 parks have something to bookAdd your dates to see what you need on your trip and when booking opens.
- Something to book
- 8
- No reservation in 2026
- 3
Rules: each park’s own nps.gov page, checked 2026-09-29. Book only on Recreation.gov, the National Park Service’s own booking site.
For 2026, Rocky Mountain kept its timed entry (May 22 – Oct 12, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.), while Yosemite, Arches, Glacier and Mount Rainier dropped their entry reservations. You still book to drive up Cadillac Mountain, for sunrise at Haleakalā, to hike Angels Landing, Half Dome or Old Rag, to enter Carlsbad Cavern, and to park in the Smokies.
How to use it
Tick the parks on your trip and enter your first and last day. For each park the checker lists every timed entry, permit, ticket or parking tag, whether you need it on those dates, what it covers, what it costs and the day booking opens for your first day there, with the link to the park’s own page on Recreation.gov. Without dates it shows each park’s season. The parks you tick travel with the link, and the National Parks Pass Calculator reads the same list, so you can check whether the annual pass pays for the same trip.
What changed for 2026, in the parks’ words
The National Park Service announced the 2026 plans for its four busiest reservation parks together. “Yosemite National Park will not require advance reservations in 2026, including during peak summer months and the February–March firefall period.” “Glacier National Park will not require a park-wide vehicle reservation system in 2026.” Arches: “Visitors may enter the park at any time during operating hours.” And “Mount Rainier National Park will not implement a timed entry reservation for any portion of the park in 2026.”
Rocky Mountain stayed: “Timed Entry reservations are needed to enter Rocky Mountain National Park between the hours of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily beginning on Friday, May 22 through Monday, October 12, 2026.” “You can enter the park before 9 a.m. or anytime after 2 p.m. without a timed entry reservation.”
Dropping entry reservations did not end every booking. At Arches, “Reservations continue to be required for Devils Garden Campground and self-guided and ranger-led Fiery Furnace hikes.” At Glacier, the park “will pilot a ticketed-only shuttle system and three-hour limited timed parking at Logan Pass.”
Every reservation, permit and ticket
| Park | What you book | Season | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Mountain | Timed entry | May 22 – Oct 12, 2026 | $2 a vehicle (the Recreation.gov fee) |
| Rocky Mountain | Timed Entry+ Bear Lake Road | May 22 – Oct 18, 2026 | $2 a vehicle (the Recreation.gov fee) |
| Acadia | Cadillac Summit Road vehicle reservation | May 20 – Oct 25, 2026 | $6 a vehicle |
| Haleakalā | Sunrise reservation | All year | $1 a vehicle |
| Zion | Angels Landing permit | All year | $6 to apply (up to 6 people), then $3 a person if you get it |
| Yosemite | Half Dome permit | While the cables are up: May 22 – Oct 13, 2026 | $10 to apply, then $10 a person if you get it |
| Shenandoah | Old Rag day-use ticket | Mar 1 – Nov 30, every year | $2 a person |
| Great Smoky Mountains | Parking tag | All year | $5 a day, $15 a week, $40 a year |
| Carlsbad Caverns | Carlsbad Cavern timed entry | All year | $1 a person, plus the $15 entrance fee |
| Yosemite | No entrance reservation in 2026 | No reservation in 2026 | — |
| Arches | No timed entry in 2026 | No reservation in 2026 | — |
| Glacier | No vehicle reservation in 2026 | No reservation in 2026 | — |
| Mount Rainier | No timed entry in 2026 | No reservation in 2026 | — |
The reservation, permit or ticket comes on top of the park’s entrance fee, except in the Smokies, where there is no entrance fee and the parking tag is the charge: “America the Beautiful entrances passes (e.g., Senior Pass, Access Pass, Military Pass) are not accepted in place of a parking tag.”
Worked examples
Rocky Mountain on July 15, 2026. July’s timed entries were released on Jun 1, 2026 at 8 a.m. MDT, and “Additional timed entry reservations will be released first-come, first-served on Recreation.gov at 7 p.m. MDT on the night before a desired arrival date.”
Sunrise on Cadillac Mountain on August 20, 2026. 30 percent of the reservations went on sale 90 days before, on May 22, 2026, and the other 70 percent two days before, on Aug 18, 2026, both at 10 a.m. ET.
Christmas sunrise at Haleakalā. Booking for December 25, 2026 opens 60 days before, on Oct 26, 2026, at 7 a.m. HST.
Half Dome on June 12, 2027. The cables normally go up on May 28, 2027. Apply in the preseason lottery from March 1 to 31, 2027, or in the daily lottery two days before, on Jun 10, 2027.
Common mistakes
- Booking a Yosemite, Arches, Glacier or Mount Rainier entry for 2026. None of them takes one this year. A site that sells you one is not the park.
- Treating a reservation as an entrance pass. At Acadia, “Vehicle reservations are not required for any other areas of the park, or for visitors who enter the area by foot, bike, or taxi”, and the entrance fee is extra.
- Expecting a parking spot. Old Rag’s tickets “do not guarantee a parking spot”, and in the Smokies “Purchasing a parking tag does not guarantee you a parking spot.”
- Waiting for next year’s dates. Rocky Mountain’s and Acadia’s seasons are published each year; the checker says “not announced” for a later year until the park publishes it.
Plan the trip
Read our guides to Yosemite, Zion, Acadia, Rocky Mountain and Arches, and the cross-country national parks road trip. Then check whether the America the Beautiful pass pays for your parks and what the drive will cost.
FAQ
Which national parks require reservations?
In 2026: Rocky Mountain’s timed entry (May 22 – Oct 12, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.), Acadia’s Cadillac Summit Road, Haleakalā at sunrise, Carlsbad Cavern, and the Smokies’ parking tag; and permits or tickets for Angels Landing, Half Dome and Old Rag. Tick your parks above for your own dates.
Do you need a reservation for Yosemite in 2026?
No: “Yosemite National Park will not require advance reservations in 2026, including during peak summer months and the February–March firefall period.” Hiking Half Dome still needs a permit while the cables are up.
Does Rocky Mountain National Park require reservations?
Yes, from May 22 to October 12, 2026 between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., and for the Bear Lake Road corridor from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. until October 18. “The only cost associated with making a timed entry reservation is a non-refundable $2 Recreation.gov processing fee.”
Do you need a reservation for Cadillac Mountain?
To drive up it, yes: “Vehicle reservations are required for Cadillac Summit Road from Wed May 20 through Sun Oct 25, 2026.” “Vehicle reservations cost $6.”
Do I need a permit for Angels Landing?
“Everyone who hikes Angels Landing needs to have a permit.” Apply in a seasonal lottery or the day before: “This lottery opens every day at 12:01 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m. Mountain Time (MT).”
How do I get a Half Dome permit?
By lottery on Recreation.gov: “The application period for this lottery is from March 1 through March 31 (eastern time)”, and “The daily lotteries have an application period two days prior to the hiking date with a notification late that night.”
Do you need a reservation for sunrise at Haleakalā?
Yes: “In order to view sunrise at Haleakalā National Park, you will need to make a reservation ahead of time.” “Reservations can be made online up to 60 days in advance of your sunrise visit on recreation.gov and are only valid for the day reserved.”