In years past, a Rocky Mountain National Park ranger pulled names out of a hat at the wilderness office so a crowd of folks who coveted summer wilderness camping permits could purchase them the day they went on sale in an orderly manner. Now, because overwhelming demand crashed the online system and halted the process twice since it failed to launch on schedule almost three weeks ago, park officials have opted for the online version of the old random hat draw.
Beginning today, backpackers who want to apply for wilderness camping permits can enter an online drawing. There’s no rush, because they have until Sunday at 5 p.m. to submit their names. Then on Tuesday, according to a park news release, names will be “randomized and drawn for access to the online reservation request application.”
Reservations were supposed to begin March 1, but the process was halted after high volume crashed the Pay.gov system, forcing park officials to put everything on hold. A resumption of the process crashed the system again on March 10. The lottery plan is designed to resume reservations for July through October without overwhelming the system again.
Those who want to get in the lottery should click on a link posted on the park’s website. That brings up a form asking for your email address, the subject of your request and other information. The subject should be “Backpacking Camping Random Drawing.”
According to Thursday’s news release, those names drawn beginning Tuesday morning will receive an email with instructions on how to proceed.
“There is the potential for further names to be drawn,” the park’s news release stated. “There will be no need to submit a name again for subsequent drawings as names will be drawn from the original applicants. The timing of future drawings will be based on the volume of applicants.”
It is important to note that this regards backpacking wilderness camping permits only. Developed campground reservations are handled with a different system through Recreation.gov. Reservations for those can be made six months in advance but many sites this summer have already been reserved.
Some spots become available thanks to cancellations, though. For example, at one point Thursday morning there were no spots available in the Moraine Park Campground for June, July and most of August. A few minutes later, a spot became available for one weekend night in July.
For a complete explanation of the process for backcountry permits and how to take part in the lottery: www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/wilderness-camping.htm
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