Yosemite wilderness permits

A wilderness permit is required for any overnight stay in the Yosemite backcountry, in every month. Each trailhead has its own daily quota. The permit is tied to the trailhead where you start and the date you start.

Dates below are for 2027 hiking starts, from the park's 2027 reservation window page.

The weekly cycle

The lottery runs in weekly rounds from mid-November through early May. Each round covers start dates 24 weeks out. All times are Pacific.

A winner who misses Thursday loses the reservation. The Friday release is first-come, first-served and stays open until it sells out. The park's window page lists the exact round for each 2027 start date.

The week-ahead release

The remaining quota opens seven days before the start date at 7 am Pacific, first-come, first-served. The park says popular trailheads go very quickly at that hour.

Online booking closes three days before the start date. After that, any unreserved permits are issued in person on the start date only, and the park says to expect few or none.

Where cancelled reservations go

Back onto the Recreation.gov calendar. Recreation.gov states that when a holder cancels, the quota is released to others. The park's reservation page says cancellations after the lottery become available immediately.

There is no batch and no fixed hour. Fees are not refunded, so holders have no deadline pushing them to cancel early. Returns can appear months out or the week of the trip.

One more source: a permit not collected by 11 am on the entry day is cancelled unless the holder arranged a late-arrival hold.

Match the trailhead to the trip

An opening only helps if its trailhead fits your route. Two add-ons depend entirely on where you enter.

Donohue Pass. John Muir Trail hikers who leave the park over Donohue Pass fall under a separate exit quota. Only two entry trailheads carry that eligibility:

• Happy Isles to past Little Yosemite Valley (Donohue Pass eligible)
• Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible)

Half Dome. Backpackers can add the cable route to a wilderness permit only from these entry trailheads:

The add-on is requested and paid for at permit pickup. The park's backpacker page lists it at $10 per person; that page was last revised in May 2024, so confirm the amount at the desk.

Catching a returned permit

1. Decide the route, then the one or two entry trailheads that serve it.
2. Enter the weekly lottery for your dates. It costs $10 and is the largest share of the quota.
3. If you lose, check the calendar on that round's Friday at 9 am.
4. Set an alert on your trailheads for the gap between Friday and the week-ahead release.
5. Be on Recreation.gov at 7 am, seven days before your start.

OpenCampsite's Yosemite guide has ready-made watches for Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley, Cathedral Lakes and Lyell Canyon. An alert tells you that space was seen. It does not reserve it, and it does not guarantee the permit is still there when you arrive at checkout.

Rules that cost people their permit

• Pickup is in person at a wilderness permit station, 8 am to 5 pm, the day before or the day of entry.
• Arriving after 11 am on entry day requires a late-arrival hold, set online within seven days of entry.
• There is no after-hours pickup.
• You must start hiking on the entry date.
• The trip leader cannot be changed. An alternate must be named before payment.