Dog Mountain Permit System

Dog Mountain Parking lot fills up during peak season.

Permits are required at Dog Mountain on weekends & Memorial Day during wildflower season from April 23 - June 12, 2022. Permits are available at Recreation.gov.

Is the date you want no longer available? An additional block of 100 permits will be released online three days before each permit date at 7:00 a.m. Pacific Time. 

Day Use Fee: Those using the parking area must also pay $5/Day/Vehicle. Get a Digital Recreation Pass.

About: During the busy spring wildflower season, weekend visitors need a permit to hike Dog Mountain Trail System to protect the public from safety issues caused by congestion at the busy trailhead parking area. Each individual must carry their own hard copy permit (or digital proof of purchase) to be on any trails that traverse Dog Mountain, including both forks of Dog Mountain Trail (#147 and #147C), Dog-Augspurger Tie Trail #147A, and the lower portion of Augspurger Trail #4407.

The permit system at Dog Mountain is a seasonal requirement to protect public safety. On Saturdays and Sundays throughout peak wildflower season, each hiker must carry a hard copy permit (or digital proof) on trails that traverse Dog Mountain. No permits are required on weekdays (except Memorial Day). 

Both permits and passes can be purchased at Recreation.gov, so be sure to note the difference: 

PERMITS: Anyone not taking the shuttle will need to reserve one permit for each person online at www.recreation.gov and pay the $1.00 non-refundable administrative fee (per person).

PASSES: Dog Mountain Trailhead has a $5/vehicle day use fee. Valid NW Forest Pass and other federal recreation passes are accepted (but not state parks passes) as a form of paying the day use fee but are not a substitute for having the per person permit during peak wildflower season. Enjoy the convenience of buying a Digital Recreation Pass for Forest Service fee sites in the Scenic Area.

Be advised, we try to match permit capacity to parking lot use, but a permit does not guarantee parking spaces are available at your time of arrival. 

A permit will be provided to visitors accessing the Dog Mountain Trailhead via the shuttle.  The shuttle runs about every 30 minutes from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekends and on Memorial Day (May 30) from April 23 - June 12, 2022. Shuttle parking and pick-up/drop-off is located in the gravel parking lot at 518 Rock Creek Drive, Stevenson, WA. Seats are available on a first come, first served basis. Each permit is good for one individual on the day it is issued. The last shuttle to depart Stevenson will be 1:00 p.m. and the final shuttle departing the trail head will be at 5 p.m. 

 

parking along the highway at the overflowing Dog Mountain trailhead parking lot.Prior to implementing the permit system, parking at Dog Mountain Trailhead would overflow onto the sides of the highway, creating unsafe conditions along the narrow shoulder of State Route 14 (SR-14). This caused safety concerns as pedestrians walked on narrow shoulders, dangerously close to high-speed traffic, while drivers had limited site distances along the winding road's foothills and cliffs. Shuttles and emergency vehicles were unable to safely access the parking lot when needed, and only the most dedicated hikers who woke at the crack of dawn had a chance to get a designated parking spot at the trailhead parking lot.

 

This approach has proven successful and improves the safety of the trailhead for both hikers and nearby highway traffic. Each year we work to improve the process.