Reserve-ahead permits for Enchantments now online

Reservations for overnight permits to camp in the Enchantment Lakes region, a highly popular backpacking destination in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, will be available only online beginning this year, according to the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest.

Camping in the Enchantments from June 15 to Oct. 15 is limited because of the popularity and the need to protect fragile alpine ecosystems. Permits are picked by lottery each year.

Instead of hand-processing thousands of permits, the Wenatchee River Ranger District is changing to an online system. Applications may be filed beginning Feb. 28. Those who win permits will be notified beginning April 5.

Included in the permit process are five subregions: the core Enchantment Lakes and zones including nearby Snow Lakes, Colchuck Lake, Lake Stuart and Eightmile Lake, all reached from trailheads off Icicle Creek Road, southwest of Leavenworth.

The application fee of $5 per person per day has not changed, but an additional $6 transaction fee will be charged per permit. Fees pay to administer the system and help fund wilderness rangers and other on-the-ground services.

Forest Service administrators say the online reservation system, operated by the National Recreation Reservation Service, will be faster and offer more security than the old system.

People can also access alerts and other recreation information through the reservation website, at www.recreation.gov. Applications require a profile and password, which can be set up in advance. Those without access to the Internet can call the reservation helpline at 877-444-6777.

If you don't win a permit online, there's still hope for an overnight visit to one of the high-country lake basins in the Enchantments area: As in past years, 25 percent of all permits will be made available on a day-of-entry basis for walk-ins, June 15 through Oct. 15, at the Wenatchee River Ranger Station, 600 Sherbourne in Leavenworth. Permits are issued at 7:45 a.m. daily except Sunday and are valid for entry only on the day they are issued. The number of permits is limited by quota, and demand often exceeds availability. If more people are present requesting a permit than there are permits available, names will be selected in a drawing.

There is no change in the distribution of day-hiking permits, which are available at trailheads.

For more information, see www.fs.fed.us/r6/wenatchee/passes/enchantments or call the Wenatchee River Ranger District at 509-548-2550.