Mount Rainier wilderness permit system moving online

NATIONAL PARKS — Backpackers and climbers who want to camp in wilderness areas of Mount Rainier National Park , including along the popular Wonderland Trail, will be able to submit reservation requests online starting this spring.

Gone are the days of applying by fax.

Park officials have been working on a new online reservation system and will begin taking requests online only starting at 9 a.m. on March 15.

Payment for reservations also will be taken online once requests are approved.

The park will no longer take requests by mail, fax, phone or other delivery methods.

After a storm damaged the park’s reservation software system last spring, the park was not able to accept reservations for its backcountry campsites last year.

About 70 percent of backcountry campsites can be reserved in advance each season.