Last updated September 29, 2026
Enchantments Permit Lottery Guide: Dates, Zones, Fees & How to Get a Permit
Overnight camping in Washington’s Enchantment Permit Area is controlled by one of the most competitive wilderness permit systems in the United States. This guide separates the annual advanced lottery, returned reservations, location-based daily lottery, five camping zones, day-use rules and the deadlines that can invalidate a winning permit.
2026 Advanced Lottery Closed. Daily Lottery Still Matters.
The 2026 annual advanced lottery has finished. The overnight quota season continues through October 31, and remaining opportunities can come from returned advance inventory or the location-enabled Enchantment Permit Area Daily Lottery.
Recreation.gov currently describes the advanced lottery as an annual February lottery. The official 2027 application dates have not yet been published. Do not copy the 2026 dates forward as though they are confirmed for 2027.
The most important annual update is the moment Recreation.gov replaces the previous year’s dates with the new lottery window. This guide is designed so that only the current-status and annual-date sections need changing when that happens.
The Enchantments Lottery Calendar
Keep confirmed historical dates separate from the next year’s expected cycle. This prevents an evergreen permit page from accidentally publishing an old deadline as a new one.
Advanced lottery application window opened.
Final day of the advanced application window.
Lottery results became available in Recreation.gov accounts.
11:59 p.m. PT deadline for successful applicants to confirm and pay.
Unclaimed lottery awards returned around 7 a.m. PT to advance inventory.
Overnight quota permits required inside the Enchantment Permit Area.
Location-enabled application for the following day’s entry.
Recreation.gov says the advanced lottery is offered annually in February.
In 2026, a successful lottery result was not enough. Winners had to return to Recreation.gov, confirm the award, provide the exit date and pay the recreation fee by March 31. Unclaimed awards then went back into the reservation system.
Winning the Permit Does Not Make the Terrain Easy.
Recreation.gov describes the Core as appropriate for experienced hikers prepared for arduous travel and changing alpine weather. Aasgard Pass can become consequential steep-snow terrain early in the permit season.
Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0Understand the 5 Enchantments Permit Zones
Your permit controls where you may camp. Day travel can cross zones, but overnight camping is restricted to the zone shown on the permit, except for Core permit holders.
Core Enchantment
The most flexible and most sought-after permit. Core holders may camp in any of the five permit zones.
24 people/day total: 16 advance + 8 dailyColchuck
Camps around Colchuck Lake below Aasgard Pass. Strong option when the Core award is not essential.
3 groups/day; one permit reserved for daily lotterySnow
Camping around Snow Lakes on the eastern approach to the upper basin.
5 groups/day; one permit reserved for daily lotteryStuart Lake
A separate overnight destination reached from the Stuart Lake Trailhead junction.
4 groups/day; one permit reserved for daily lotteryEightmile / Caroline
Western permit zone with its own lakes, camps and trail access.
3 groups/day; one permit reserved for daily lotteryIf you win a Core award, your party size cannot later be increased. Choose the minimum group size you are genuinely willing to take when applying. The other zones have group-based quotas and may allow additions up to the maximum group size when inventory and change rules permit.
This Is Why the Core Lottery Is Different.
A Core award gives legal overnight access across the entire five-zone system. That flexibility—and the limited daily quota—is what makes Core the permit most applicants chase.
Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0How to Apply for an Enchantments Permit
The mistakes usually happen around zone selection, group leadership, acceptance deadlines or assumptions about what can be changed later.
Create or Verify Your Recreation.gov Account
Do this before the lottery opens. The applicant becomes the permit holder if selected.
Choose the Zone Before the Date
Core, Colchuck, Snow, Stuart and Eightmile/Caroline are different overnight products. Know what camping experience you actually need.
Select Entry Date & Group Size
Core party size is especially important because people cannot be added after the lottery award.
Add an Alternate Leader During the Application
An alternate cannot be added later. The alternate needs a Recreation.gov account and must accept within the published acceptance period—currently 72 hours on the official instructions.
Pay the $6 Application Fee
The lottery application fee is nonrefundable whether or not the application succeeds.
Return for the Result
Do not assume an email is the entire process. Log in on the official result date and check your Recreation.gov account.
Accept, Add Exit Date & Pay
A winning application is not final until the award is confirmed and the per-person recreation fees are paid by the deadline.
Print & Sign the Final Permit
Follow the permit’s current instructions. The advanced-permit page requires the permit holder to carry the signed permit and photo ID.
How to Improve Your Planning—Not Game a Random Lottery
There is no legitimate method that guarantees a Core permit. The useful strategy is to improve flexibility and understand which alternatives still create the trip you want.
Do Not Build Around One Weekend
If your schedule can accommodate multiple possible entry periods, you have more ways to act when inventory appears later.
Decide Whether You Truly Need Core
Colchuck or Snow can create excellent overnight trips with day travel into other parts of the permit area.
Use the Group You Will Actually Take
Core permits cannot be enlarged after the lottery. Do not assume you can win with a small group and add friends later.
Check Returned Awards
In 2026, unclaimed awards returned to advance inventory around 7 a.m. PT on April 1. Check the new year’s official instructions before treating that timing as recurring.
Use the Daily Lottery
One permit in each non-Core zone and eight Core visitor spaces are held for the daily process under the current quota structure.
Do Not Convert Failure Into an Unsafe Thru-Hike
The one-day Enchantments traverse avoids the overnight lottery but is still an extremely demanding alpine day. Choose it only if your group is prepared for the terrain and distance.
Historical demand shows why flexibility matters.
Forest Service historical statistics show tens of thousands of annual applications for only a few thousand awards across the permit system. In 2022, the agency reported 36,827 applications and 2,528 total permits awarded. Core alone received 26,988 applications in that historical dataset.
Those figures describe historical demand—not your personal probability for a future date or zone.
A Permit Controls Camping. It Does Not Reserve the Wilderness for Your Group.
Expect other hikers, particularly around the highest-demand lakes and larch season. The quota limits overnight entry—it does not create a private backcountry experience.
Photo: Niko Kirov / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0How the Enchantment Daily Lottery Works
The daily lottery is not a nationwide online backup lottery. It is designed for travelers who are physically in the required Leavenworth-area geofence immediately before the trip.
Be in the Required Geofence
Recreation.gov requires a location-enabled mobile device inside the designated application area.
Apply the Day Before Entry
The daily lottery runs seven days a week during the permit season for the following day’s start.
Select the Zone & Acceptable Group Size
Core daily inventory is allocated by people. Do not request a party size you would be unwilling to reduce.
Be Ready to Hike the Next Day
Transportation, equipment, lodging and group logistics should already be solved before using the daily lottery as Plan B.
Recreation.gov specifically distinguishes the daily system from the advanced lottery. The person applying needs to be able to lead the trip if selected.
The Daily Lottery Is a Permit Opportunity—Not a Readiness Shortcut.
A next-day Core award gives very little time to correct poor preparation. Your group should already understand the route, snow conditions, equipment and transportation before entering.
Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0Enchantments Permit Fees
Application fee, recreation fee and parking are separate concepts.
| Cost / rule | Current official amount | When it applies | Important detail |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advanced lottery application | $6 | When entering the annual lottery | Nonrefundable even when unsuccessful |
| Overnight recreation fee | $5 per person per day | May 15–October 31 | Paid after award / reservation |
| Overnight parking pass | Included with permit | Dates of overnight permit | Display on dashboard |
| Day-use permit | Free self-issued permit | Day hikers | Available at trailheads |
| Day-use parking | Northwest Forest Pass required | Applicable Enchantments trailheads | Separate from free day permit |
Changes, Cancellations & Permit Deadlines
Several rules become much less flexible as the entry date approaches.
Zone & Entry Date
Once the reservation is made, the permit zone and entry date cannot be changed.
No Adding People
Core group size cannot be increased after the lottery award.
Some Additions Before the Deadline
Under current instructions, group members and days may be added when eligible eight or more days before entry, up to the group-size and trip-length limits.
22+ Days Before Entry
Current advanced-lottery guidance provides a recreation-fee refund when eligible cancellations occur at least 22 days before the trip. The $6 application fee remains nonrefundable.
Within 21 Days
The recreation fee is not refunded under the current advanced cancellation rule.
Print Window
Recreation.gov currently allows printing within 14 days of the trip. Printing reduces the ability to make changes, so finalize the group first.
A Core Permit Buys Time—not an Easier Route.
Backpacking lets hikers spread the Enchantments over several days, but overnight packs still have to cross steep, rocky terrain. Recreation.gov recommends planning at least three or four days for many Core trips.
Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0Do Day Hikers Need an Enchantments Lottery Permit?
No overnight lottery award is required simply to day hike, but day use is not permit-free.
Free Self-Issue Permit
Day visitors complete the required free wilderness permit at the trailhead.
Northwest Forest Pass
Day users need the applicable parking pass in addition to the self-issued wilderness permit.
Day Use Is Not a Camping Loophole
A day permit does not authorize an overnight bivouac inside the quota area during the overnight permit season.
The existing GSG route guide describes the classic traverse at roughly 18.5 miles with about 4,845 feet of gain. Do not recommend it as the automatic fallback for every unsuccessful lottery applicant.
Best Alternatives After an Unsuccessful Application
Use a hierarchy of legitimate alternatives instead of treating Core as the only worthwhile experience.
Day Hike Colchuck Lake
See Dragontail Peak and Aasgard Pass without camping in the quota zone. This is still a substantial mountain day.
Target Colchuck or Snow
A non-Core zone can provide an overnight base with legal day travel beyond the camping zone.
Daily Lottery
Stay near Leavenworth with a flexible itinerary and apply inside the required geofence for next-day entry.
Watch Recreation.gov
Cancellations can return inventory. Do not assume the annual lottery is the final opportunity.
One-Day Traverse
Legal as day use with the required day permit, but the terrain, Aasgard Pass and long Snow Lakes exit require serious preparation.
Choose Another PNW Alpine Hike
The Pacific Northwest cluster includes Cascade Pass, Mount Rainier, Olympic and Mount Hood alternatives with very different reservation systems.
Core Is Not the Only Overnight Landscape Worth Winning.
Snow, Colchuck, Stuart and Eightmile/Caroline each create a legitimate wilderness trip. Choosing the right zone for the experience you actually want is better planning than automatically treating every application as Core-or-nothing.
Photo: Buidhe / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0Enchantments Permit & Trailhead Map
This map is for planning orientation: Leavenworth, the two key traverse trailheads and the approximate Core basin. Use the official permit-zone map to determine legal overnight camping boundaries.
Why Leavenworth Is the Practical Permit Base
The town is close to the ranger district, Icicle Creek access, Snow Lakes Trailhead and the road toward Stuart Lake Trailhead.
Sleep Near the Trailheads
An overnight in Leavenworth simplifies an early departure and avoids adding a long Seattle drive before a major alpine day.
Stay Flexible
A flexible local base makes much more sense for the day-before lottery than locking a complicated long-distance itinerary around an unconfirmed permit.
Wenatchee River Ranger District
The Forest Service lists its permit contact at 600 Sherbourne Street, Leavenworth, WA 98826.
How This Permit Page Should Be Updated Every Year
The page should remain evergreen, while a small group of fields is refreshed as Recreation.gov moves from one permit season to the next.
Never roll last year’s dates forward simply because the system usually repeats. Keep future dates labeled expected or not yet confirmed until Recreation.gov publishes them.
Primary Enchantments Permit Sources
Recreation.gov and Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest control the permit system. Their current instructions override any static guide.
If Recreation.gov changes a date, fee, quota, geofence rule or application procedure, update this page immediately. Permit pages should never preserve an older rule because it was correct when the article was first published.
Enchantments Permit Lottery FAQ
The deadlines and distinctions most likely to affect whether the trip is actually legal.
When does the Enchantments permit lottery open?
The advanced lottery is offered annually in February. The 2026 application window ran February 15 through March 1. The official 2027 dates have not yet been published as of the current page check.
When were the 2026 Enchantments lottery results released?
Recreation.gov released the 2026 results on March 17. Successful applicants then had to confirm the award and complete payment by March 31 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.
How much does the Enchantments permit lottery cost?
The current advanced-lottery application fee is $6 and is nonrefundable. Overnight permits cost an additional $5 per person per day during the May 15–October 31 quota season.
What are the five Enchantments permit zones?
Core Enchantment, Colchuck Lake, Snow Lake, Stuart Lake and Eightmile/Caroline. Most permits restrict overnight camping to the assigned zone; Core permit holders may camp in any of the five.
How many people can be on an Enchantments permit?
Maximum group size is eight. Separate permits cannot be combined into a traveling or camping group larger than eight.
Can I add people to a Core permit after winning?
No. Recreation.gov states that Core permits are allocated by people and the group size cannot be increased after the lottery.
What happens to unclaimed Enchantments permits?
For the 2026 cycle, unclaimed lottery awards returned to advance reservation inventory on April 1 at approximately 7 a.m. Pacific Time. Check the current year’s official instructions because that date and time should not be assumed to repeat automatically.
How does the Enchantments Daily Lottery work?
Applicants use a location-enabled mobile device from within the required geofence and apply the day before their intended start date. The daily lottery operates during the permit season and has no alternate group leader.
Do I need the overnight lottery to day hike Colchuck Lake?
No overnight lottery permit is required for a legal day hike. Day users complete a free self-issued wilderness permit and must meet the applicable parking-pass requirement.
Can I day hike the whole Enchantments if I lose the lottery?
Day travel does not require an overnight lottery permit, but the full traverse is roughly 18.5 miles with almost 4,850 feet of climbing and steep alpine terrain. It is an advanced day objective, not a simple permit workaround.
Can Enchantments permits be transferred?
No. Permits are non-transferable. The permit holder—or an eligible alternate leader properly designated through the advanced-lottery process—must lead the trip.
When are overnight permits required?
Current rules require an overnight zone permit from May 15 through October 31. Outside that period, visitors are asked to self-register at the trailhead, but winter and shoulder-season conditions can be severe.
Apply Early. Understand the Zone. Keep a Real Plan B.
Enter the advanced lottery when the official window opens, know which camping zone actually fits the trip, return for your result, confirm the award before the deadline and keep the daily lottery or a strong day hike as a legitimate alternative. The permit system is competitive. Your trip plan does not have to be fragile.
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