trailhead intel Google Maps doesn't have

which lot fills by 6am, which pass you actually need, when the lottery window opens. updating as I learn things the hard way

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Paradise lot (Mount Rainier)

full by 9am on summer weekends, no overflow, they will turn you away at the gate

Sunrise lot (Mount Rainier)

smaller than Paradise, fills earlier some weekends, road doesn't open till around July depending on snow

Enchantments Core Zone lottery

applications go in Feb 15 through Mar 1, three ranked picks. success rate is something like 3-5 percent, don't plan a whole trip around it

Enchantments walk-up permits

Leavenworth Ranger Station releases some weekly, and you need a smartphone now to apply on site

Mount Si / Tiger Mountain trailheads

these are DNR land, a Northwest Forest Pass does nothing here, you need a Discover Pass

Most Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest trailheads

Northwest Forest Pass, not Discover Pass. opposite of Si/Tiger and people mix this up constantly

I-90 corridor lake trailheads (Snow Lake, Talapus)

Twin Falls / Squak Mountain

state parks, Discover Pass again

Chinook Pass (Naches Peak Loop lot)

maybe 20 spots total, it's a wash by 9am

Any trailhead the day after fresh Cascades snow

check NWAC before you drive up, road conditions lag the actual snowpack by a day

Ranger station phone lines, generally

the recorded message gets updated more often than the website, worth the call

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