SPOKANE — Winter is the season for thinking ahead to summer adventures that require a special permit or reservations.
Campers seeking to stay at popular national park or national forest cabins, lookouts and campgrounds generally can make reservations up to 180 days in advance of the date of arrival.
That means on-the-ball planners already are making reservations as far out as August at popular parks such as Glacier and Yellowstone or nifty rooms with a view such as Sex Peak or Gem Peak fire lookouts in the Kootenai National Forest.
Camping areas for large groups also can be booked in advance, including the Bartoo Island group site at Priest Lake.
Backpackers planning a trek into the Enchantment Lakes area of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness southwest of Leavenworth also must apply for a lottery drawing before March 3.
These and other reservations, including many of the lottery drawing applications, are made on the National Recreation Reservation System, 877-444-6777 or recreation.gov.
However, not every choice destination is onboard with the national online system. For example, backpacking the classic Wonderland Trail around Mount Rainier requires sending applications by letter or fax to the park.
Reserving the Red Ives Cabin on Idaho Panhandle National Forests — a lair especially popular with fly fishers — requires submitting an application to the St. Joe River District before Feb. 28. The application is available from Forest Service offices or online at www.fs.usda.gov/ipnf; click on the Red Ives Quick Link. Applicants successful in the lottery drawing will be notified by the end of March. For more information, call 208-245-2531.
National forests throughout the country have many historic cabins and fire lookouts in their national rental program. Most are accessible by road but some must be reached by muscle power on a trail.
National forest cabin fees start at $40 a night, although a $55 fee is being charged for the Kelly Forks Cabin and $60 for Red Ives because of their choice locations along popular fishing streams.
Hogback Homestead, offered by the Lolo National Forest on Montana’s Rock Creek east of Missoula and available through recreation.gov, is another facility on a nationally famous trout stream.
National park campsites and cabins also can be made through recreation.gov, but there are major exceptions.
Yellowstone Park, for example, has its own reservation system at tinyurl.com/YNPreserve or call toll-free, 866-439-7375.
State parks have their own reservations systems, with great options ranging from Oregon Coast campsites to Idaho yurts.
Washington State Parks rents yurts, teepees, cabins and rustic shelters at 23 sites across the state, from Mount Spokane to the ocean beaches. While some can be easy to reserve in the offseason, they’re very popular during summer. Make Washington State Parks reservations online or by phone at 888-226-7688.
Quartz Mountain Lookout in Mount Spokane State Park is a hot local item with a premium price of up to $93 a night for a room with a view. Reservations are accepted up to nine months in advance for the June 15 through Oct. 15 season. Details online, tinyurl.com/QuartzMt.
Washington parks
For more on special permits and reservations for National Parks in Washington and Washington state parks, go to www.heraldnet.com/summercamping.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
