Checked October 1, 2026
2026 at a glance
4 national parks ask you to book something to get in, or to reach one famous spot, in 2026. Three of the parks that made timed entry famous, Glacier, Yosemite and Arches, dropped it for 2026. We read every park's own nps.gov page today, so this table follows the parks, not last year's news.
| Park | What you book | 2026 dates | Cost | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rocky Mountain | Timed entry for the whole park, 9 a.m.–2 p.m. Timed Entry+ Bear Lake Road for the Bear Lake Road Corridor, 5 a.m.–6 p.m. | Park: May 22 – Oct 12, 2026. Bear Lake Road: May 22 – Oct 18, 2026. | $2 Recreation.gov processing fee (non-refundable), plus the entrance fee | Recreation.gov ↗ |
| Acadia | Vehicle reservation to drive Cadillac Summit Road (sunrise or daytime). Nowhere else in the park. | May 20 – Oct 25, 2026 | $6 per vehicle, plus the park entrance pass | Recreation.gov ↗ |
| Haleakalā | Sunrise reservation for each vehicle entering the Summit District between 3 and 7 a.m. | Year-round | $1 per vehicle, plus the entrance fee | Recreation.gov ↗ |
| Carlsbad Caverns | Timed-entry reservation to enter Carlsbad Cavern (by elevator or on foot) | Year-round | $1 reservation, plus the $15 per-person entrance fee | Recreation.gov ↗ |
Entrance fees are separate. If you're paying them anyway, see whether the America the Beautiful pass covers your trip.
Parks that need a reservation
Rocky Mountain National Park
Reservation required“Timed Entry reservations are needed to enter Rocky Mountain National Park between the hours of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily beginning on Friday, May 22 through Monday, October 12, 2026.”
- Timed Entry+ Bear Lake Road Reservations are needed to enter the Bear Lake Road Corridor between the hours of 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily beginning on Friday, May 22 through Sunday, October 18, 2026.
- You can enter RMNP without a timed entry reservation and visit most areas if you enter the park before 9 a.m. or after 2 p.m.
- Additional timed entry reservations will be released first-come, first-served on Recreation.gov at 7 p.m. MDT on the night before a desired arrival date.
- Only one timed entry reservation is required per vehicle, per day (not per person).
Book on Recreation.gov ↗nps.gov page (updated May 14, 2026) ↗
Acadia National Park
Reservation required“Vehicle reservations are required for Cadillac Summit Road from Wed May 20 through Sun Oct 25, 2026.”
- Vehicle reservations are not required for any other areas of the park, or for visitors who enter the area by foot, bike, or taxi.
- 30 percent of the Cadillac Summit Road Sunrise and Daytime vehicle reservations will be available for purchase at 10 am (ET) 90 days in advance of the reservation date.
- 70 percent of the Cadillac Summit Road Sunrise and Daytime vehicle reservations will be available for purchase at 10 am (ET) two days in advance of the reservation date.
Book on Recreation.gov ↗nps.gov page (updated November 25, 2025) ↗
Haleakalā National Park
Reservation required“A reservation is required for each vehicle entering the park from 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. You may book a reservation up to 60 days in advance and 2 days in advance of the start date.”
- Fee-free entrance days do not include sunrise reservations or admittance to the park between the hours of 3:00 am-7:00 am.
Book on Recreation.gov ↗nps.gov page (updated December 18, 2025) ↗
Carlsbad Caverns National Park
Reservation required“A timed entry reservation must be purchased to access Carlsbad Cavern. In addition, an entry pass must be purchased at the visitor center.”
Book on Recreation.gov ↗nps.gov page (updated May 5, 2025) ↗
No longer required in 2026
If you remember booking a time slot for these parks, good news: for 2026 you can just show up (with the entrance fee or a pass).
Glacier
“Vehicle reservations will not be required in 2026.”
Logan Pass will have time limited parking in 2026.
Yosemite
“Yosemite National Park today announced it will no longer use a timed reservation system in 2026.”
Arches
“In 2026, advanced timed-entry reservations will not be required at Arches.”
Reservations continue to be required for Devils Garden Campground and self-guided and ranger-led Fiery Furnace hikes.
Arches adds a caveat worth knowing: “Vehicles may be diverted from park entrances when areas become too congested.” Busy days can still mean a wait at the gate, so the crowd calendar is your friend.
Bookings that aren't park entry
Some of the most-searched “reservations” aren't about getting into the park at all:
- Zion, Angels Landing. “Everyone who hikes Angels Landing needs to have a permit.” Apply in the day-before lottery (“This lottery opens every day at 12:01 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m. Mountain Time (MT).”). It costs $6 to apply for a permit. If you win, there's also the $3 per-person permit fee. Zion's permit page.
- Arches, Fiery Furnace and Devils Garden Campground. Still need reservations in 2026, even though park entry doesn't.
- Gateway Arch, the tram to the top. The park charges no entrance fee, and “The museum under the Gateway Arch is always free for all visitors and does not require any tickets.” Tram tickets are sold at gatewayarch.com; nps.gov says “Adult prices range from $15-$19, depending on the day (Peak Visitation Days are more expensive).”
How to get a slot
- Rocky Mountain: skip the reservation entirely by entering before 9 a.m. or after 2 p.m. Missed the monthly release? “Additional timed entry reservations will be released first-come, first-served on Recreation.gov at 7 p.m. MDT on the night before a desired arrival date.”
- Acadia: 30 percent of the Cadillac Summit Road Sunrise and Daytime vehicle reservations will be available for purchase at 10 am (ET) 90 days in advance of the reservation date, and the other 70 percent two days ahead, also at 10 a.m. ET.
- Haleakalā: sunrise reservations open up to 60 days ahead, with a second batch two days before (nps.gov). One reservation covers a vehicle.
- Everywhere: book on Recreation.gov (or its app), print or screenshot the QR code, and remember the reservation and the entrance fee are two different things.
Today is October 1: still in season
NPS data vs. the park pages
The NPS Data API lists a timed-entry or reservation system for 6 national parks. We checked each one against the park's own page, because the API lags behind: here's what it says, next to what we publish.
| Park | NPS API says | We publish |
|---|---|---|
| Acadia | Required to drive Cadillac Summit Road: May 20–Oct 25, $6 | Required: May 20 – Oct 25, 2026 |
| Arches | Timed entry reservations may be needed to visit Arches in 2026. | Not required in 2026 |
| Carlsbad Caverns | Required to Enter Carlsbad Cavern: Jan 1–Dec 31, $1 | Required: Year-round |
| Gateway Arch | Pre-boarding tour and top of the arch ticket: Jan 2–Dec 31, $19 | Tram tickets only (not park entry): $15–$19 adults per nps.gov |
| Haleakalā | Required to attend sunrise at Haleakalā National Park.: Jan 1–Dec 31, $1 | Required: Year-round |
| Rocky Mountain | Visiting between now and October 20? You might need a Timed Entry. | Required: Park: May 22 – Oct 12, 2026. Bear Lake Road: May 22 – Oct 18, 2026. |
The API still describes Rocky Mountain's 2024 season and says Arches “may” need timed entry in 2026; the park pages say otherwise, so we follow the park pages. Glacier and Yosemite don't appear in the API's timed-entry list at all.
