Stand on the top of Angels Landing and you'll know exactly why it's so popular. Starting along the Virgin River, you climb up through a slot canyon, switchback up the cool Walter's Wiggles carved into the sandstone, then use the chains to help you navigate the harrowing knife-edge ridge to that view. Set in the middle of the canyon, your perch is nothing short of breathtaking as you gaze at the red walls of Zion canyon and up to the Narrows.
When Kristen and I first hiked Angels Landing almost 10 years ago, all it took was effort on our part and an early start to enjoy it with few people. Now, however, you'll also need a permit. You'll also need one if you want to drive over Trail Ridge Road (Rocky Mountain) or Going-to-the-Sun Road (Glacier) or climb Half Dome (Yosemite).
As these necessary programs have been rolling out and tweaked along the way, it's become overwhelmingly confusing with the advanced reservations, rolling 6 month block release, day-before, etc.
To that end, I decided to sit down and try to assimilate all of that information into one resource for you intuitively called National Park Fees, Passes, Permits, and Reservations. I'm still working on adding more information to it, but wanted to tell you about it right now for three reasons:
1. Glacier's first round of vehicle reservations starts tomorrow (they're releasing the first block for May 26th - June 30th). 2. You're probably already making plans for trips this summer and I think it could be helpful! 3. I'd love to hear feedback on the page. Let me know if you find it useful, what I can add (or make more clear), and if you find any errors, please let me know.
It's all a bit tricky and a bit messy. I have more thoughts on these systems on a blog post I put up today. Regardless, I hope that you're able to navigate the systems successfully and they lead to epic adventures!
the trail awaits...
Jake
PS stay tuned for some exciting news from Kristen. If you haven't already read her posts on getting fit for hiking, check them out here and sign up for her newsletter!
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