But that changed this year for anyone using the mobile app. Now you can set up alerts for your favorite reservations at locations managed by the National Park Service, from campgrounds in national parks to timed park entries, hiking permits, tours in federal recreation areas and passes to drive on popular roads like the Going-to-the-Sun Road in Glacier National Park. The feature was tested and piloted in 2023, but will be expanded and made permanent in June 2024, according to a Washington Post article.
The feature is free for anyone, but you must be logged into your Recreation.gov account on your phone. Just search for your preferred permit or reservation — for example, Zion National Park’s Watchman Campground or Cadillac Summit Road at sunset in Arcadia National Park — and you’ll see a blue bar at the bottom of the app. Click “Notification” and you’ll be taken to a tab where you can enter your date (or a range of dates). Click “Save Alert” and you’re all set. You’ll get an alert when passes become available. But so will everyone else who has an alert set up, so if you see an alert, you’ll want to book the pass or permit ASAP.
The feature is available for campgrounds, timed entry reservations (for parks that require them), and various activities and tours. The caveat is that it’s only available for currently available passes and permits, so you can’t set up an alert when campground reservations aren’t open yet or tour tickets aren’t on sale yet. That makes it ideal for catching last-minute cancellations, but you’ll probably want to set up reminders the old-fashioned way (on your phone’s calendar) for dates like lottery openings.
A screenshot showing the useful feature of Recreation.gov. Photo: Suzie Dundas
National parks that require vehicle reservations for at least some sections of the park all or part of the year include Arcadia National Park, Arches National Park, Glacier National Park, Haleakalā National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Shenandoah National Park, Yosemite National Park, and Zion National Park. 
