National parks you'll need reservations to visit 

With hundreds of state and national parks, there's no shortage of open space to explore the outdoors. However, during certain hours or seasons, travelers seem to congregate in a select few. To offset the harm caused by the steady march of cars and feet, these destinations have introduced reservation or timed-entry systems. A few are year-round, but several coincide with the end of our self-imposed hibernation and the start of nature's reawakening.

The deluge of visitors — 312 million recreational visits last year, up from 297 million in 2021, according to the NPS — has been more of a foe than a friend to the parks. Traffic is a headache for visitors and a safety hazard for emergency vehicles. Illegal parking damages the fragile ecology. Hikers jostling for space on packed trails have turned communing with nature into a contact sport.

The advance-booking systems are as varied as the parks' terrain. Some apply to parking, others to a specific feature or experience, such as a mountain trail or scenic drive.

The reservation and its nominal fee, which varies by park, is separate from the general admission price (109 national park sites charge an entrance fee, for instance), which visitors must pay except on certain free days. However, the reservation requirement is waived for guests who have booked on-site accommodations, such as a campsite, or a recreational activity, such as horseback riding.

Other tips: Don't be late for your timed entry or you could be shut out of the park. Depart when your time slot expires. Print out, download or take a screenshot of your reservation in case cellphone service is spotty.

Here's where you'll need reservations this year to appreciate America's parks in all their splendor.

1. Sunrise at Haleakala National Park and Hawaii state parks

To bask in the sunrise at Maui's Haleakala National Park, whose Hawaiian name translates to "house of the sun," visitors need to make a $1 reservation for the prime viewing hours of 3 a.m. to 7 a.m. The permit, which was introduced in 2017, provides parking in any of the four high-elevation lots: Summit, Haleakala Visitor Center, Kalahaku and Leleiwi.

Of the 10 parks that collect fees, four require nonresidents to pay in advance the $10 to park and $5 to enter. Two of the parks are in Maui: Iao Valley State Monument, which reopens on May 1 after a nine-month closure, and Waiʻanapanapa State Park, which is known for its black sand beach. The one on Kauai, Ha'ena State Park, has an additional prebooking option: a seat on a round-trip shuttle bus from Hanalei for $35 per adult.

Oahu's Diamond Head State Monument introduced its reservations system last May, three years after it recorded its highest visitation number ever: 6,000 people in one day.

Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve, a snorkeling wonderland in Honolulu, welcomes even fewer people — 1,400 per day. All nonresidents must pay a $25 entrance fee, plus $3 cash for parking. Before cavorting with the sea life, visitors must watch a nine-minute orientation video.

2. Scenic drives at Glacier and Acadia national parks

Montana's Glacier National Park has tweaked its pilot program that debuted in 2021, the second-busiest year on record with slightly more than 3 million parkgoers. From May 26 through Sept. 10, travelers visiting between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. need a reservation for the westside entrance of Going-to-the-Sun Road (valid for three days) and North Fork (good for one day). Starting on July 1, the system will expand to include the eastern entrances at Many Glacier, Two Medicine and Rising Sun. Passes cost $2.

The park, which racked up 1.9 million recreational visits last June through August, will release blocks of dates four months in advance.

To reach the park's highest peak, the 1,530-foot Cadillac Mountain, visitors must obtain a $6 timed-entry pass for Cadillac Summit Road from May 24 through Oct. 22.

Because of repaving plans, the park will offer sunrise and daytime reservations two days in advance through June 30. Thereafter, reservations will be divided 30/70 between 90-day and two-day advance purchases.

3. Hiking in Zion National Park and Shenandoah's Old Rag

Zion National Park in Utah is bringing back its lottery. The winners — nearly 200,000 last year — earn the right to hike Angels Landing, a vertiginous trail that can take upward of five hours. Two of this year's four lotteries remain: July 1-20 for September to November treks and Oct. 1-20 for December to February excursions.

If you strike out with the quarterly lottery, try to score a pass the day before. The lottery runs from 12:01 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mountain time. Cost for both lotteries is $6 for the application and $3 per person for the permit.

4. Timed-entry for Rocky Mountain National Park

If you visited Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado last year, you might notice a few changes to its program. But the major points are the still the same.

Visitors arriving by car can choose between two types of passes: Park Access Timed Entry Permits and Park Access+ Timed Entry Permits, both of which cost $2. The main difference between the two are the hours (9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5 a.m. to 6 p.m., respectively) and the areas you can access. With the ticket, you have a two-hour window to enter the park.

5. Riding through the Redwoods at Muir Woods

At Muir Woods National Monument north of San Francisco, only car travelers and shuttle bus passengers need a reservation. The parking fee for a regular-sized vehicle is $9; the shuttle costs $3.50 per person, 16 or older. Half of the spaces are released up to 90 days in advance and the other half go up three days beforehand.

Starting in July, the park will embark on several construction and salmon habitat projects that could result in "noise, dust and detours," according to Muir Woods.