Enchantments Thru Lottery Odds
The Forest Service calls the Enchantments advance lottery highly competitive and puts it at typically less than 10% of applicants succeeding. The Core Zone is the hardest way in: only 24 people a day enter it, 16 of them through the advance lottery.
Figures from official agency statistics, last verified August 6, 2026.
A crew of 5, each applying, turns about 5% into about 23%.
Start a poolSuccess rates by year
| Year | Lottery | Applications | Awarded | Success rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Advance lottery — all zones75% of available permits are issued through the advance lottery. | — | — | <10% |
| 2026 | Core Zone daily quota24 people per day enter the Core Zone: 16 through the advance lottery, 8 through the daily lottery. USFS publishes no Core-Zone-specific success rate. | — | — | Not published |
Sources: Okanogan-Wenatchee NF — Enchantments Overnight Permits · Recreation.gov Enchantments advance lottery
How to improve your Enchantments Thru odds
- 1
Consider Colchuck or Snow zones. The Core Zone is capped at 24 people a day, while the other zones are allocated by group — Colchuck three groups per day, Stuart four, Snow five, Eightmile/Caroline three — and you can still day hike into the Core from either.
- 2
Enter the daily lottery too. One permit from each zone is reserved for it, and the Core Zone holds back eight of its 24 daily spaces.
- 3
Cancelled permits return to Recreation.gov continuously through the season. Monitoring the zone you want is the main path in after the lottery.
The backup plan: cancellation alerts
<10% odds means most applicants lose. But lottery winners cancel all season, and those dates quietly return to the booking system. PermitSnag watches Enchantments Thru continuously and alerts you within seconds when dates open, which is how most people who lose the lottery still get on the trail.
Enchantments Thru lottery questions
What are the odds of winning the Enchantments Thru lottery?
The Forest Service calls the Enchantments advance lottery highly competitive and puts it at typically less than 10% of applicants succeeding. The Core Zone is the hardest way in: only 24 people a day enter it, 16 of them through the advance lottery.
How can I improve my Enchantments Thru lottery odds?
Consider Colchuck or Snow zones. The Core Zone is capped at 24 people a day, while the other zones are allocated by group — Colchuck three groups per day, Stuart four, Snow five, Eightmile/Caroline three — and you can still day hike into the Core from either. Enter the daily lottery too. One permit from each zone is reserved for it, and the Core Zone holds back eight of its 24 daily spaces. Cancelled permits return to Recreation.gov continuously through the season. Monitoring the zone you want is the main path in after the lottery.
What if I lose the Enchantments Thru lottery?
Cancellations. Lottery winners cancel or miss payment deadlines, and those dates return to the booking system throughout the season. Tracking Enchantments Thru with availability alerts is the standard post-lottery fallback.