Hiker Headlines: Mount Rainier, Enchantments lotteries open; free day; WTA symphony event

It’s Feb. 12. The Mount Rainier early access permit lottery is open and the Enchantments permit lottery opens on Feb. 15. Monday, Feb. 16, is Presidents’ Day and parking fees will be waived on federal lands. Join WTA and the Northwest Symphony Orchestra at our third annual Crescendo symphony event in Seattle on April 24. And, a big thanks for the over 1,200 of you who have spoken up for public lands the last few months! Here’s some news you may have missed while out on trail this week.

Mount Rainier National Park's early access lottery for backcountry permits is now open! Photo by pnw_editor. 

Rainier lottery: The Mount Rainier National Park early access lottery for backcountry camping permits is now open. The lottery is open on Recreation.gov through March 3. Being selected in the lottery assigns you a priority date when you can try to book your desired itinerary. Additionally, the Enchantments permit lottery will open on Recreation.gov on Feb. 15 at 7 a.m. and close on March 17. Applicants must have an entry date, group size and permit zone in mind when applying for the Enchantments lottery. 

Fee-free day: Monday, Feb. 16, is Presidents’ Day, and parking fees will be waived on federal lands managed by the Forest Service, National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. 

Symphony event: Join Washington Trails Association for our third concert in collaboration with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra (NWSO) on Friday, April 24, at 7:30 p.m. at Benaroya Hall in Seattle. Experience photos from WTA’s annual Northwest Exposure Photo Contest on the big screen while listening to sweeping melodies performed live by NWSO. Your ticket purchase will support our work to connect everyone to the outdoors and build a community that gives back to trails and public lands. Save your spot online. 

Thank you for speaking up for trails! In December, the U.S. Forest Service reported that understaffing in 2025 was leading to “unpassable trails, unsafe bridges and negative environmental impacts” in our national forests. In response, over 1,200 of you(!) spoke up with WTA by contacting your members of Congress about the need for the Forest Service to hire seasonal trails staff in 2026. Now, Senators Cantwell and Murray from Washington have joined with senators from other states to bring this message to the Forest Service Chief, asking that he make plans to address how the lack of trail crews, wilderness rangers and other Forest Service staff are impacting our national forests and the public’s ability to reach them.

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