Paradise Wildflowers
The park starts accepting reservation requests on March 15th each year. Reservation requests can be made by fax, letter (or in person after it opens to the public in late May) at the Longmire Wilderness Information Center only. No other Ranger Station in the park is set up to accept and process reservations. We do not accept reservation requests by telephone. Park Rangers will begin processing reservation requests on April 1. All requests received between March 15 and April 1 will be processed in random order. Requests arriving April 1 and after will be processed in the order in which they were received.
During this initial two week period the park can receive 500-700 reservation requests. Each one is processed by hand with usually only 2-3 rangers assigned to this duty. It will be well into May before this initial batch of reservation requests are completed. This means you may not get a reply from the park for some weeks. As the season goes on and the initial pile of requests are whittled down, the park is able to process and reply to reservation requests in a few days. If your reservation request is successfully processed you will receive a confirmation letter that shows your itinerary. Please note that this confirmation letter is not your permit. You must come into a Ranger Station to get your permit. If we are not able to process your reservation request you will receive a letter stating why, and what your options are. If we cannot book a reservation for you, you will not be charged a reservation fee.
If you are filling out the Reservation Request Form by hand, please use black ink only. Other colors often do not fax clearly. When this happens we cannot process your request until we are able to contact you and sort out the problem in question. In the meantime we move onto the next reservation request while yours sits in a folder waiting.
When the day arrives for you to come into the Ranger Station to get your permit, be sure to have the following information:
- An emergency contact phone number
- The license plate number of any vehicle being left overnight in the park
- The make, model and color of the vehicle
Also, please note that reservations will be canceled by the park if you do not show up by 10am on the day your trip begins. If you will be later than 10am you need to let the park know in advance. Once canceled, the camps you had reserved become part of the first-come, first-served pool of permits that other hikers will have the opportunity to use.