I plan this summer (end of June) my first ever trip to Quetico and have a basic question: how far ahead shall I make a reservation? I see that depending on EP there are usually between 1 and 3 non-resident permits available daily, but - speaking averages - are they mostly gone by Christmas time or still available in May?
Cheers,
Sergey

The earliest that you can reserve a permit is five months ahead of the entry date. There will be permits available in May, but maybe not for a particular day or entry point. Don't forget your RABC if you are entering through a southern ranger station.

Eddy... there are lots of EPs available all year long. Sometimes dates are filled for certain EPs, but there are always options.

What I would suggest doing is going to the Ontario Parks reservations website and starting a reservation. When you get to the spot where you can go to the calendar view of availability, click on that. You will see very quickly that there are lots of dates and entry points available.

i seem to recall when there wasnt a non resident permit available,that the outfitter that dropped us off was able to get us a resident permit. he said since he was a resident outfitter?? not sure on how that works but thats what i was told.

Thanks for your help. I tried on-line reservation and it didn't work. I called Ontario parks and they told me that Quetico backcountry reservations - both by phone and on-line - will be opened on May 17th this year. I have an impression that they totally f-up the new reservation system, starting from contra-intuitive navigation - different parks under different tabs, and so on.

I have my reservation already. I'd try again

AmarilloJim: "I have my reservation already. I'd try again"

Me too, got it last week.

Apologies for earlier misinformation: an OP employee who told me that Q reservations would be available only in May obviously didn't have a clue. I just made my reservation on-line and had no problem with it.