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3 popular national parks implementing reservation entry systems in 2025

By Hayley Vawter
Published  November 13, 2024 9:50pm EST
U.S.
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If you're planning a trip to a national park in 2025, you may need to book a reservation to enter. 

Rocky Mountain, Arches and Glacier National Parks will all be implementing a reservation entry system for part of the year. 

Arches National Park

Arches National Park in Utah, kicks off their vehicle reservation system in April. The park implemented a similar program for 2024.  

"We continue to hear positive comments from people who enjoyed the guaranteed arrival time and reduced congestion they experienced during these pilots," said Arches National Park Superintendent Lena Pace. 

Timed-entry tickets will be required from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. starting April 1 through July 7, and will begin again Aug. 27 through Oct. 31. The park said the break in reservations from July 8–Aug. 26 is due to a decrease in park visitations. 

Visitors arriving before 7 or after 4 will not need a timed entry reservation, the park said. 

The timed-entry tickets will allow visitors to enter the park at a certain hour between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., and stay for the rest of the day. 

Booking for April reservations begins in January. 

  • April reservations (April 1–30) open January 2.
  • May reservations (May 1–31) open February 1.
  • June reservations (June 1–30) open March 1.
  • July reservations (July 1–6) open April 1.
  • August reservations (August 27–31) open May 27.
  • September reservations (September 1–30) open June 1.
  • October reservations (October 1–31) open July 1.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Over in Colorado, Rocky Mountain National Park will carry out its time-entry reservations beginning in May 2025.

There will be two types of reservations to enter the national park: one to enter the entire park excluding Bear Lake Road Corridor, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The "rest of the park" reservation system, excluding the Bear Lake Road Corridor, will open May 24 and close Oct. 14. 

Ancient sandstone formations in Arches National Park near Moab, Utah, were carved by wind and rain.

The other reservation will include the Bear Lake Road Corridor as well as the rest of the park, and will be required from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. This system opens May 24 and ends Oct. 20. 

The tickets will allow visitors a two-hour window of availability for entry, with no required departure time. 

The timed-entry tickets will be released as follows: 

  • May 1, for tickets May 24 through June 30.
  • June 1, for the month of July and any remaining days that have not been booked for June.
  • July 1, reservations will be available for the month of August and any remaining days that have not been booked for July.
  • Aug. 1, reservations will be available for the month of September and any remaining days in August that have not been booked.
  • Sept. 1, reservations will be available for October and any remaining days in September that have not been booked.

Glacier National Park 

The latest of the newest reservation system begins in June 2025, for timed-entry tickets to Glacier National Park in Montana. 

Glacier National Park also implemented a similar program for 2024. 

The tickets will go on sale Feb. 12 for timed reservations. The reservations will be required from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 13 to Sept. 28. In addition to a vehicle reservation, each vehicle entering the park is required to have an entrance pass for any entry point into the park. 

Timed-entry tickets will include access through the West Entrance and the North Fork. 

Vehicle reservations will not be required to enter Two Medicine Valley or St. Mary entrance to Going-to-the-Sun Road in 2025. Entry may be temporarily restricted at certain times of day (typically between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.) when areas become too congested, the park said. 

"In 2025 we are continuing successful measures from the 2024 season, including access to Apgar Village, Two Medicine, and the East Entrance to Going-to-the-Sun Road outside of the vehicle reservation system," said Glacier National Park Superintendent Dave Roemer. "Within that successful framework we are going to try timed entry to see if we can minimize congestion, optimize visitor arrival, and improve visitor experiences. Timed entry has proven to be a valuable tool in other popular national parks and should reduce congestion and wait times at the West Entrance to Going-to-the-Sun Road." 

Booking for the reservations for Glacier National Park will open in two batches. 

  • A portion of reservations will be available 120 days or approximately four months in advance, starting on Feb. 12 on a rolling basis.
  • The remaining vehicle reservations will be available at 7 p.m. MDT for next-day entry starting on June 12, 2025.

Reservations for all three national parks can be booked through Recreation.gov. There's a $2 processing fee for each reservation.