Hello everyone, I am wondering if any of you can give me some input on travel permits and how they work. This is going to be my first time camping this year and I am trying to figure out how the permits will work for my travel. I was thinking of starting at entry point 23 and traveling 20 miles up north near Canada and come back down to entry point 20 to go home. Will that work? As well as how many permits will I need per adult.
Thanks

First, permits are specific and limited. A permit allows entry only at the entry point (EP) on the permit and only on the date the permit is for. Different entry points have different quotas of permits. Once the quota of permits for a day and entry point have been reserved, there are no more available. The type you will need is an overnight paddle permit.

Mudro is one of the most popular entries and is often fully reserved for many days. Reserve your permit as soon as possible.

Permit availability can be checked at Rec.gov

I don't know when you are planning your trip, but a quick search reveals that the Mudro entry EP #23 has very limited availability for June, July, and August.

I did not check availability for Mudro EP #22 Restricted - NO camping on Horse Lake.

A permit is good for a group of nine people and four watercraft. You must camp together on a designated site. You will only need one permit, but will have to pay $16.00 camping fee for each per person.

Yes, you can enter at one EP and exit at another.


Click on the planning link at the top for additional information.

Thank you this helps a lot. I was planning a 6 day trip on the last week of August with 4 adults. If this spot fills up quick than I will start to get the permits within this month.

You'd need one permit then, once you enter the park at that specified entry point on the reserved day...you can go anywhere in the park and stay as long as you want.

Quick check of recreation.gov shows one permit for EP 23 open Aug 24 and then quite a few options from the 26th on.

Also, people with reserved permits can cancel. So if a date is full today, there might be a spot open if you check again tomorrow night or next week or a month from now. Seeing a date is fully booked does not necessarily mean permanently off the board.

New Camper: "Thank you this helps a lot. I was planning a 6 day trip on the last week of August with 4 adults. If this spot fills up quick than I will start to get the permits within this month."

I would go ahead and get one of the available permits as soon as possible. If you have to change, the lost permit fee of $10.00 is not excessive IMO. The camping fees will be refunded, unless, I think, it's something less than 2 days, which is unlikely. Only pay the minimum of 2 fees; pay the rest at pick up.

If you can't reserve one now, you might want to develop an alternate entry point plan.

When you reserve the permit, name as many alternate trip leaders as possible for flexibility in pick up. You can also name an outfitter (co-operator) as a pick up point; they generally have more extended hours.

It is true there MAY be cancellations (no guarantee), but you'll only know if you check and it will only be available until someone reserves it.