What does the status "W: Available at the Facility" mean regarding trail permits?
When looking for trail permits for a particular trail at recreation.gov, I almost always see the status "W: Available at the Facility" for today and the next day, and rarely anything available for 2 or more days in advance.
Does this "W" status really mean that you can be pretty sure to get a permit when you drive there, or is it rather "If there are any permits left, then they are at the facility and not online"?
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/q/6328. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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In areas with quotas on permits, often only a certain percentage of permits can be reserved. The remainder are available on a first-come first-serve basis at the ranger station.
For Mt Whitney, there is definitely a quota. There's likely to be a lot of competition to get a permit for such a popular trail at such a popular time of year. I would recommend getting to the ranger station at least an hour before it opens. There could already be people in line even then.
There may also be limits on how far in advance you must reserve a permit. It's possible that the reason you only see permits for the next couple days is because people cancelled reservations, and now those permits are available on a first-come basis in-person.
This post was sourced from https://outdoors.stackexchange.com/a/6330. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
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