BEND, OR -- The Central Cascades Wilderness permit system runs through next Saturday the 15th.

Forest Service Public Affairs Officer Jean Nelson-Dean says the program has worked well this season, “overall people are enjoying the fact that parking lots aren’t jampacked. That they can kind of have an experience, particularly in the overnight. Definitely saw an increase of use over our first year of the season due to some of our changes. For our overnight permit system, we issued 10,000 permits which allowed 37,0000 people to spend 35,000 nights. Somewhere between 2 and 4 people going in together to have an overnight experience.”

26,000 day-use permits were issued this summer along with another 20,000 people on day-use passes which were not part of the Wilderness Permit System.

During the autumn recreation season, the Forest Service reminds visitors that it’s extremely important to “Know Before You Go.” This means confirming that your destination is open for use, checking to see if routes of travel are open and reviewing predicted weather forecasts. Forest Service roads are not plowed or maintained during winter conditions.