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Wilderness Permits  ·  Mt. Whitney + Eastern Sierra  ·  Free

Whitney's full.
Until someone cancels.

Mt. Whitney sells out in minutes. Then someone cancels their trip. CampWatch emails you the moment they do.

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No password  ·  No spam  ·  Cancel anytime
Apr 22
Permits release first-come
60 / 40
Quota split, 6 mo + 2 wk
May–Nov
Whitney season
Free
To set a watch
Why it's hard to get

Whitney sells out the day it opens. Cancellations are the back door.

Mt. Whitney is the most-chased permit in the Sierra. The reservation calendar opens, the popular weekends vanish in minutes, and you're left staring at a wall of grey. If you missed the click, you missed it.

But plans fall apart constantly. People cancel, drop a night, or never claim their lottery permit at all. That quota goes right back on the calendar for whoever's watching. The catch is it can land at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday, and the popular dates disappear again within minutes.

That's the whole opening CampWatch is built for. We check Whitney and the Eastern Sierra trailheads around the clock and email you the second a spot frees up on your dates. No refreshing Recreation.gov on your lunch break.

The Whitney timeline

Four moments decide who gets the summit

01
The preseason lottery (Feb 1 – Apr 21)
Once a year, Whitney permits are handed out by a random draw. You apply between February 1 and March 1, results post March 15, and winners pay and accept by April 21. There is no daily lottery and no recurring draw. This is the one stage no alert can touch, and we say so plainly below.
02
April 22, 7 a.m. PT: everything unclaimed goes first-come
Here's the part most people miss. Every permit a lottery winner didn't claim or pay for is released on April 22 at 7 a.m. Pacific as first-come, first-served on Recreation.gov, and it stays bookable for the rest of the season. The lottery isn't the only door. It's the first one to close.
03
In-season cancellations (May 1 – Nov 1)
All season, people cancel. When they do, that quota returns to the Recreation.gov calendar as bookable FCFS, often within 24 hours and sometimes faster. It does NOT go back into a lottery. Weekday spots within about two weeks of the date are the most common pickups, and they can vanish minutes after they appear.
04
The 2-week, 40% quota drop
Whitney releases its daily quota in two waves. Sixty percent opens six months ahead. The other forty percent is added exactly two weeks before each entry date at 7 a.m. PT. That second wave is a predictable, catchable moment, and it's one of the best shots at a date that looked full a month ago.

Three of those four moments are first-come. That's three openings an alert can win you.

The straight talk

What an alert can and can't do for Whitney

Here's our line, plainly. CampWatch cannot change the preseason lottery draw. From February to April 21 there's nothing to refresh, no spot to catch, and we won't pretend otherwise. An alert is not a reservation, and it's definitely not a winning lottery ticket.

Everything after April 22 is fair game. The first-come release, the two-week quota drop, and every in-season cancellation are real openings on the Recreation.gov calendar. Those are exactly what we watch.

And one myth worth killing: when someone cancels a Whitney permit, it does not go back into the lottery. It returns to the reservation calendar as first-come, first-served, usually within a day. That's a spot you can book the moment you hear about it.

An alert is not a reservation. We can't win you the lottery, and we'd never say we could. What we can do is catch the April 22 release, the two-week quota drop, and every in-season cancellation, then email you the second one lands on your dates. After that, the next 60 seconds are yours.
Where we come in

Three openings. One watch. Zero refreshing.

01
The April 22 release
When unclaimed permits go first-come at 7 a.m. PT, we're already watching. You get the email instead of guessing the minute.
02
The 2-week, 40% drop
Fourteen days out, the second quota wave posts. CampWatch catches it the moment it lands on your entry date.
03
In-season cancellations
Someone bails, the spot returns to the calendar, and you hear about it right then, not after it's gone again.

Set the watch once. We handle the refreshing for all three.

How it works

Three steps to your permit

01
Find your permit
Search the permit you're after, like Mt. Whitney or an Eastern Sierra trailhead, and add it to your watch.
02
Set your dates
Pick your entry dates and group size. We'll know exactly what an opening looks like for you.
03
Get alerted instantly
We watch the permit's daily quota around the clock. You get an email the moment a spot opens.
Permit details

What we watch at a glance

What we watch
FCFS & cancellation permits
Marquee permit
Mt. Whitney (Inyo NF)
Whitney season
May 1 – Nov 1
Preseason lottery
Apply Feb 1 – Mar 1
FCFS release
Apr 22, 7 a.m. PT
Daily quota
100 day · 60 overnight
Permit source
Recreation.gov
Cost
Free watch · small permit fee

Be first when Whitney opens up

CampWatch watches Mt. Whitney and the Eastern Sierra trailheads around the clock and emails you the moment a spot frees up on your dates. Set a free watch and go pack.

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New to how Recreation.gov releases work? Read the cancellation-alerts guide. →
Booking a campsite instead? CampWatch monitors Recreation.gov campgrounds. →
CampWatch is an independent notification service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to ReserveCalifornia, Tyler Technologies, California State Parks, Recreation.gov, the National Park Service, or the U.S. federal government.
This service monitors publicly available availability data and sends alerts only, and it does not make or hold reservations on your behalf. Availability information may be delayed or inaccurate; always confirm directly on Recreation.gov before making travel plans.

Your email address is collected solely to deliver permit alerts and is never sold or shared with third parties. By using this service you agree to these terms.