jordanvincent

A lot of great data here too: https://irma.nps.gov/Stats/ I used it to build my National Park visitation visualization: https://jordan-vincent.com/night-under-the-stars

You are correct and I updated the article to reflect that. Thank you!

Hey there! Booking backpacking permits in California can be tough! I love going outdoors, but I'm terrible at planning, so I wanted to understand how fast backpacking permits run out.

So I scrapped permit availabilities in Tahoe's Desolation Wilderness, and I created a data visualization to explore it. I hope that it helps you plan your next trip!

If any of you have tried to backpack in the Grand Canyon National Park, you know how hard it is to get a permit. You must fill out a tax-form like application and fax it (yes, you read correctly) 4 months in advance. You must send the application within a 10-day window or it won't be processed. Finally, applying doesn't even guarantee a permit. A final lottery picks the lucky winners!

Unfortunately, National Parks are only accessible to those who have the right information and a lot of patience. 2 years ago, I created a National Parks visualization to help with that: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20563745 That was a great overview. But you still had to do a lot of research to plan your trip.

Rim to Rim Permits allows you to apply for a permit online up to one year in advance. It takes care of filling out and sending the permit application on your behalf.

Please have a look and let me know what you think!