New Daily Lottery For Enchantments Camping Passes Starts In Week

The Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest is changing the process of its daily lottery for overnight camping in the Enchantments backcountry area.   

People will no longer physically go to the Wenatchee River Ranger Station in Leavenworth to enter the lottery but will use an app that simply requires them to be within a mile radius of the station.  

Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest spokesperson Deborah Kelly says there will be fees involved in the process. 

 "There is going to be a six-dollar nonrefundable application fee for it," said Kelly. "And then those who are successful will also have a five dollar per person, per night fee for the number of people in their group." 

 There are typically a handful of camping permits available in the daily lottery for the Enchantments, which is conducted Monday through Friday starting next Tuesday, May 14. 

Kelly says people who successfully obtain a permit will only be allowed one overnight stay per year. 

“This is similar to the regular Enchantments permit,” said Kelly. “You’re only permitted to have one per year, whether it’s through the advance lottery, through the daily lottery, you're just be able to only have one for that applicant.” 

The change is aimed at improving customer convenience and staff efficiency by reducing the amount of time people have to spend at the ranger station itself. 

The procedure for entering the daily lottery and obtaining a camping permit are as follows. 

• Installing the Recreation.gov mobile app in an area with service coverage prior to applying for the lottery. 
• The daily lottery application will be available between 7:00 a.m. and 10 a.m. for overnight hiking trips departing the following day. 
• Lottery notifications will be distributed by 11 a.m. to the email associated with the applicant's Recreation.gov account. 
• Successful applicants must pick up their permit in person at the Wenatchee River Ranger Station by 4:00 p.m. on the same day they applied for the lottery. 
• The daily lottery application process will only be offered on weekdays, Monday through Friday, during the permit season from May 14 to October 31. This means overnight stays will take place Tuesdays through Saturdays.  

While most Enchantment overnight permits are distributed through the Advanced Lottery process in February, a smaller number of permits are reserved for the daily lottery distribution. There have been no changes to the Advance Lottery process. 

The highly competitive advance lottery takes place in February. This year, more than 40,000 people participated in the early lottery for fewer than 2,600 permits issued. Groups are limited to eight campers.

For more information about the Recreation.gov mobile application, including how to install the application, visit Recreation.gov.