Best Strategy for Rainier First-come First-serve Permit???

Bumping this up. Would appreciate your experience and/or knowledge of getting a First-Come First-Serve permits at Rainier NP.

thanks,
Billy

I know they start work later than everyone else. I think they start at eight, maybe later. Just keep calling. Where are you planning on going?

Doing the Northern Loop and Spray Park in a figure 8 pattern starting and ending at Mowich Lake.

I just call the Rangers. You can learn a lot and get a lot of tips and inside information by just calling and talking to them. For the Wonderland and Northern Loop, I was told to come early on the day of or day before, on weekday like Monday or Tuesday. If you call them a day or two before your trip they will often look at the camp reservations and give you a better idea of what is open and what your chances are. They can also tell you what time they will open and how early people have been lining up. I did this a few weeks ago in North Cascades National Park for the Copper Ridge Loop and Whatcom pass. They do not take reservations and have limited spots. I called a week before and got the general info and some insight into the conditions and how busy it has been. The Ranger gave me a recommendation on which days looked best. I called the day before my planned trip and everything I wanted was still open. I arrived 10 minutes before they opened and there was only one other person ahead of me. Got the entire trip I wanted.