The Enchantments · Washington
Lower elevation zone.
Get an alert when Snow Zone opens on your dates.
70% of the openings our scanner caught on Snow Zone were gone within 10 minutes.
We alert you to cancellations. The lottery runs February 15 to March 1.
Who issues Snow Zone permits. Source: USDA Forest Service: Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest. Read the official permit page. “The majority of overnight permits are allocated through a pre-season advanced lottery held February 15 through March 1 of each year.”
The Enchantments traverse is covered by three separate zone permits, not one through-hike permit. See the Enchantments Through-Hike permit page.
Recreation.gov sells the Enchantment Permit Area by zone, and your permit names the zone you camp in and the day you enter. "Once a permit reservation is made, no changes may be made to the permit zone or entry date."
Recreation.gov: “Snow Lakes Zone: five groups per day”
The Snow Zone includes the Snow Lakes and Nada Lake basin, and the Snow Creek drainage.
A day in this zone
5groups a day
As of September 2026, Snow Zone in The Enchantments, Washington requires a permit issued via lottery. Snow Zone rates 6/10 on PermitSnag's demand index. Cancelled Snow Zone permits are re-released on the booking system, and PermitSnag alerts you the moment one opens. The Snow Zone lottery opens February 15 and closes March 1, with results announced March 17. The permit season for Snow Zone runs May 15 through October 31. The Snow Zone route covers 13 miles with 4,100 feet of elevation gain, rated strenuous.
Permits get cancelled daily. Peak cancellation times are 24-48 hours before the trip date.
Get notified when cancellations happen. Pro and $19 single-permit alerts are checked about every minute, 24/7; free accounts are checked hourly.
Sign up at Recreation.gov if you don't have an account. Verify your email and add payment info ahead of time.
Submit your application between February 15 and March 1. Apply for multiple dates to increase your odds.
Results are announced March 17. Check your email and your Recreation.gov account.
More on Snow Zone: Live availability activityWhen Snow Zone permits open upSnow Zone lottery datesEstimate your lottery oddsBoost your odds with a pool
Snow Zone permit fee: $6 non-refundable lottery application fee, then $5.00 per person per day May 15 to October 31 if you draw a permit.
Five groups a night, the biggest allocation of any Enchantments zone, and a cancellation alert catches the nights that come back.
The Snow Zone is the largest allocation in the Enchantment Permit Area: USFS issues five groups per day to it, against four for Stuart, three each for Colchuck and Eightmile/Caroline, and 24 people per day for the Core Zone. A group can be up to eight people.
USFS describes the zone as the Snow Lakes and Nada Lake basin plus the Snow Creek drainage, mostly forested, and more forgiving to campers in bad weather than the other permit zones, while still holding views of the surrounding peaks. The trail climbs steadily for 6.5 miles from the Snow Lakes Trailhead, gaining 4,100 feet.
The zone touches the Core. Beyond Snow Lakes the trail ascends steeply over granite slabs another 1,400 feet to Lake Viviane, which is in the Core Zone. A Snow Zone permit lets you day hike the whole Core basin; it does not let you camp above Upper Snow Lake, and there are no established campsites between Upper Snow and Viviane anyway.
USFS puts it plainly: the trail climbs steadily for 6.5 miles from the Snow Lakes Trailhead, gaining 4,100 feet. That is the whole approach, and it is the reason this zone stays the easiest to draw.
Beyond Snow Lakes the trail turns primitive, ascending steeply over granite slabs another 1,400 feet to Lake Viviane, which is inside the Core Zone. Groups with a Snow Zone permit are welcome to day hike throughout the Core Zone but must camp at or below Upper Snow Lake. USFS notes there are no established campsites between Upper Snow and Lake Viviane, so the boundary is also a practical one.
The Enchantments get treated as one permit. They are not: USFS splits them five ways, and the Snow Zone takes five groups a day, more than any other. It is also the forgiving one. USFS describes the Snow Zone as mostly forested and more sheltered in bad weather than the other zones, which matters in a place where June and September routinely deliver winter.
This is the long way in. Six and a half miles of steady climbing through forest with the Snow Creek drainage below you, and then the basin opens onto Nada and the Snow Lakes with the same rugged peaks the Core Zone gets, seen from underneath.
Best for: Backpackers who want an Enchantments permit they can actually get, and do not mind earning it with 4,100 feet of climbing.
Recommended experience: A previous long day with a pack on. The trail is steady rather than technical until the slabs above Upper Snow Lake.
Not recommended for: Anyone whose whole reason for going is to camp among the Core Zone lakes. This permit does not allow that.
Trailhead information
On Icicle Creek Road out of Leavenworth. Also the exit for hikers traversing the Enchantments from Stuart Lake.
Smaller lot. Northwest Forest Pass required for day parking; the overnight permit includes a parking pass that must be displayed on the dashboard.
Leavenworth, Washington.
May 15 to October 31 is the permit season. Because the Snow Zone is lower and more forested it comes into shape earlier than the Core and stays usable later. Late September into early October is larch season and by far the most contested stretch.
Opens May 15. Lower and more forested than the other zones, so it clears earlier, but the upper trail holds snow.
Crowd level · moderate
Snow-free and warm. The long climb is the whole difficulty.
Crowd level · high
Larch colour late September into October, and cold clear nights.
Crowd level · extreme
No permit required after October 31; USFS asks visitors to self-register at the trailhead box.
Crowd level · low
Trailhead (5,000 ft)
Backcountry Tips
Today
38°
33°
53%
Wed
42°
32°
Thu
42°
36°
Fri
54°
35°
Sat
53°
33°
Sun
58°
34°
Mon
54°
34°
Evening on the Snow Lakes, when the peaks above the basin catch the last light and the water goes still.
Early October, when the larches turn and the low sun comes down the Snow Creek drainage.
Five groups a night is still five groups in a whole basin. Day hikers rarely come this far up, so the zone is quiet almost by default.
Emergency contacts, ranger station locations, and satellite communicator tips for Snow Zone.
Bear canister requirements, approved container lists, and rental locations for this permit.
Gear Checklist: Required and recommended gear for Snow Zone · Shuttle Services: Trailhead transportation options · Guide Services: Experienced wilderness guides
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Five groups per day, which is the largest allocation of any zone in the Enchantment Permit Area. For comparison USFS issues four groups a day to the Stuart Zone, three each to Colchuck and Eightmile/Caroline, and admits 24 people a day to the Core Zone. One permit from each zone is reserved for the daily lottery.
USFS puts it at 6.5 miles from the Snow Lakes Trailhead with 4,100 feet of gain, climbing steadily the whole way. Beyond Snow Lakes the trail turns primitive and ascends another 1,400 feet over granite slabs to Lake Viviane, which is inside the Core Zone.
No. A Snow Zone permit requires you to camp at or below Upper Snow Lake. You are welcome to day hike throughout the Core Zone, and there are no established campsites between Upper Snow and Lake Viviane anyway.
The Enchantment Permit Area advance lottery runs annually in February, with a $6.00 non-refundable application fee. Zones are drawn separately, so applying for the Snow Zone does not cost you a chance at the others. If you draw, the recreation fee is $5.00 per person per day, May 15 through October 31.
It is the best of the five. USFS describes the area as mostly forested and more forgiving to campers during bad weather than the other permit zones, while still holding views of the surrounding peaks. In a range where September can deliver winter, that is worth something.
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The high lake basin itself. 24 people per day, 16 from the advance lottery and 8 from the daily lottery.
The hardest draw in Washington, and the only permit that lets you sleep among the Core lakes.
Three groups a day at Colchuck Lake, under Dragontail Peak, with a much shorter approach: 4.2 miles and 2,100 feet.
Fewer groups per day than Snow, and a far busier lake during daylight hours.
Day use is permitted across all five zones on a free self-issued permit from any of the three trailheads.
No lottery and no fee, but the full Snow Lakes to Stuart Lake traverse is an 18-mile day with 4,500 feet of climbing.
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Two ways to land it
We check Snow Zone for cancellations 24/7 and alert you when a spot opens so you can book before it's gone.
Set a free cancellation alertApply with a crew. Each person multiplies your combined odds. We coordinate invites, deadlines, and outcomes.
See plans to start a poolMost crews do both: get alerts for cancellations, and pool for the lottery.
Lottery concierge
Missed the draw or skipped it? Set an alert and we tell you the moment a Snow Zone cancellation opens. We remind you about the lottery dates too.
Better odds with a crew
Snow Zone permits are drawn by lottery. Every friend who applies adds another entry, so a crew gets more shots at the same permit than any one of you alone.
One of you runs the pool (Pro or a $19 alert). Everyone else joins free.
Auto win-detection tells you the moment your Snow Zone application wins, so you never have to check Recreation.gov. It reads the result email you forward us, so it takes a one-time setup in your inbox (about two minutes, and we walk you through it). Auto win-detection is on Pro or a $19 permit alert.
Turn on auto win-detectionOpens the official lottery. You submit your entry. We never automate or store your Recreation.gov login.
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