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National Park Fees

Timed entry and reservations: 2026, and what we know about 2027

A handful of parks ration cars at the busiest hours. A reservation is not an entrance pass: you need both, and no annual pass covers the reservation fee. Here is each system as the parks describe it, read on their nps.gov pages on September 30, 2026.

Rocky Mountain

Required in 2026
What:
Every vehicle entering the park between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. (Timed Entry), or the Bear Lake Road corridor between 5 a.m. and 6 p.m. (Timed Entry + Bear Lake Road). One reservation per vehicle, not per person.
When:
Timed Entry: May 22 – October 12, 2026. Timed Entry + Bear Lake Road: May 22 – October 18, 2026.
Booking:
Released on Recreation.gov at 8 a.m. MDT on the 1st of the month before: May 1 for May 22 – June 30, June 1 for July, July 1 for August, August 1 for September, September 1 for October. A second batch opens at 7 p.m. MDT the evening before each day. Not sold at the park.
Cost:
$2 Recreation.gov processing fee, on top of the entrance fee.
2027:
Not announced as of September 30, 2026. If 2027 follows 2026, the first release would be on May 1.

Official pageCalendar reminder (Mar 15, 2027)

Acadia

Required in 2026
What:
Vehicles driving Cadillac Summit Road only. The rest of the park, and visitors on foot, by bike or by taxi, need no reservation.
When:
NPS data lists the 2026 season as May 20 – October 25. The road closes to vehicles at 9 p.m.
Booking:
Online only (Recreation.gov), never at the park. Per vehicle; no re-entry on the same reservation.
Cost:
$6 per vehicle, on top of the entrance fee.
2027:
Not announced as of September 30, 2026.

Official pageCalendar reminder (Mar 1, 2027)

Haleakalā

Required in 2026
What:
Sunrise at the summit: every vehicle entering the Summit District between 3 a.m. and 7 a.m.
When:
All year.
Booking:
Recreation.gov, up to 60 days ahead, released at 7 a.m. HST; part of each day is released 2 days ahead. One reservation per account per 3 days. No refund for weather.
Cost:
$1 per vehicle, plus the entrance fee.
2027:
Rolling system: dates in 2027 open 60 days ahead, as in 2026.

Official pageCalendar reminder (Jan 4, 2027)

Arches

Unconfirmed
What:
NPS data says only that "timed entry reservations may be needed to visit Arches in 2026".
When:
Unconfirmed. The park’s timed entry page showed "Page In-Progress" when we checked.
Booking:
Check nps.gov/arch and Recreation.gov before you go.
2027:
Not announced as of September 30, 2026.

Official pageCalendar reminder (Feb 1, 2027)

Glacier

None in 2026
What:
No vehicle reservation in 2026. Instead: a ticketed-only shuttle and 3-hour limited parking at Logan Pass (pilot).
When:
2026 summer season.
Booking:
Shuttle tickets: see the park’s "Logan Pass Shuttle Service" page.
Cost:
Shuttle ticket price set by the park.
2027:
Not announced as of September 30, 2026. Check the park page again early next year.

Official pageCalendar reminder (Mar 1, 2027)

Yosemite

None in 2026
What:
No timed entry reservation in 2026. The park announced "targeted" traffic management on the busiest days instead.
2027:
Not announced as of September 30, 2026. The 2026 decision was posted in February 2026.

Official pageCalendar reminder (Feb 1, 2027)

The calendar reminder is a date we picked for you to go and check the park page before the season. It is not an NPS date and no email is involved: the file goes straight into your own calendar.

Other timed tickets listed by NPS

Cave tours, historic houses, monuments. Straight from the NPS data API; the season shown is the one NPS lists for 2026.

SiteTicketSeasonPrice
Carlsbad Caverns NMCarlsbad CavernJan 1 – Dec 31$1
Gateway Arch MOTram Ride to the TopJan 2 – Dec 31$19

Questions travelers ask

Does the America the Beautiful pass include timed entry?

No. A timed entry reservation is separate from the entrance fee. At Rocky Mountain, for example, you need both a valid entrance pass and the reservation, which costs a $2 Recreation.gov fee.

When do 2027 reservations open?

None of the parks on this page had announced its 2027 system when we checked on September 30, 2026. Rocky Mountain released 2026 dates month by month from May 1; Haleakalā sunrise works on a rolling 60-day window all year.

Do I need a reservation for Yosemite or Glacier in 2026?

No entrance reservation in 2026 at either park. Yosemite dropped its timed reservation system for 2026; Glacier replaced vehicle reservations with a ticketed shuttle and 3-hour parking at Logan Pass.

Updated . Fees retrieved from the National Park Service API on . Independent site, not affiliated with the National Park Service. Fees are set by NPS and can change; the park’s own page prevails.