Don't "panic-book" your Boundary Waters canoe trip permit

Yes, but: Permit-hoarding is a growing concern.

• BWCA managers say anxious paddlers are scooping up more permits than they can use, shutting out thousands of would-be visitors.

By the numbers: A record 11,000+ BWCA permit-holders canceled their trips last year — 58% of whom booked right after the reservation window opened last January, the U.S. Forest Service reports.

• There were also more than 2,300 no-shows in 2023, the latest year of complete data.
• Many cancellations came so late that they might as well have been no-shows, as there's too little time for a replacement group to plan a trip, Superior National Forest spokesperson Joy VanDrie tells Axios.

Reality check: Some popular dates and entry points will sell out immediately — but it's rare for the Boundary Waters to actually be fully booked, even while permit quotas are in effect between May 1 and Sept. 30.

• Adam Amato, who gathers his own reservation data as the founder of the BWCA.com forum, estimates that 30–40% of permits will still be available after this week.
• The more scarce motorboat permits, however, will likely sell out.

Between the lines: With visitor numbers declining from a pandemic-era high, Amato predicts some of the permit scarcity will ease — though he still thinks the Forest Service should consider increasing cancellation penalties.

The bottom line: "Don't panic-book," Amato tells Axios.

• There's no need to rush the queue Wednesday unless you're locked into a specific set of dates or a destination.
• "We don't want to promote that scarcity thought — 'If you don't get it on go-live day, you're not able to go' — because that's not the case," VanDrie says.

What's next: The reservation portal opens on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 9am.

Go deeper: Tips for planning your first BWCA trip