Half Dome quick facts:
- Distance: 17 miles round trip
- Elevation gain/loss: +/-4,900 feet
- Number of applications in 2023: 55,581 (pre-season and day-of)
- Success rate: 20 percent
- Application window: March 1-31, 2025
- Apply here
Because Half Dome is so iconic, a permit is required to hike to the summit every day, and the demand far exceeds availability. In 2023, 24,100 applications were submitted for the preseason lottery, which issues 225 permits per day. Only about 19 percent of applicants were successful in winning one of their requested dates.
The majority of Half Dome permits are distributed through the preseason lottery, held each March on Recreation.gov. Applicants can select up to seven preferred dates and list up to six people in their group. Results are announced in mid-April, and successful applicants must pay a reservation fee to confirm their permits. Your name can only appear once on an application, so if you’re an alternate leader on permit application one, you can’t be the primary leader on permit application two. Permits are required only for the cable-assisted section of the hike beyond the sub-dome. So if you can’t get a permit, you can always hike to the base of the cabled section, and wait to see if anyone who does have a permit decides they don’t have the energy (or bravery) to make the final exposed push.
If you miss out on the preseason lottery, daily lotteries are held each day during the hiking season, typically between late May and mid-October. (The exact dates the cables go up and down depends on the weather.) Theoretically, all permits could be assigned during the pre-season lottery, so the only permits available via this method are cancelled or unclaimed ones. To participate in the daily lottery, you’ll need to submit an application two days before your preferred date — so you’d apply on a Tuesday to hike Half Dome on the following Thursday. Applications need to be submitted by 4 PM local time, and you’ll find out late that night if you won.
Half Dome is a long, difficult day hike, often considered one of the hardest in California. It gains about 5,000 feet of elevation and is about 17 miles long, and that’s only if you’re able to park close to the trailhead; you may have to walk a few extra miles if you park farther away. You’ll need to start early and prepare for a long day. Proper gear, including gloves for gripping the cables, is strongly recommended. Don’t ever attempt the hike if there’s bad weather in the area, which can move in quickly in the higher elevation areas of the park.
If you want to do Half Dome as an overnight trip, don’t get a day-use permit: get a Yosemite Wilderness Permit. It’s an entirely different application process.
Photo: Pugventure Photo/Shutterstock
If you’re unsuccessful in getting a Half Dome permit, consider hiking Clouds Rest. At 9,926 feet above sea level, Clouds Rest provides one of the best panoramic vistas in Yosemite, including unobstructed views of Half Dome itself. The hike is challenging but slightly less strenuous than Half Dome, with a round-trip distance of about 12 miles and roughly 3,000 feet of elevation gain if you start from the Sunrise Lakes Trailhead. The final stretch includes a thrilling, narrow ridgeline that leads to the summit, making it a favorite among adventurous hikers.
Unlike Half Dome, you won’t have to deal with cables or large crowds, and the trail sees significantly fewer visitors, too. You can also do it as a point-to-point hike into the Yosemite Valley, but you’ll need to figure out transportation back to the starting point off Tioga Pass Road.
Arch Rock is the closest entrance to the Yosemite Valley, near the town of El Portal. Photo: N8Allen/Shutterstock
Yosemite has more than a dozen campgrounds, as well as multiple hotels within the park. Since the Half Dome trailhead is in the Yosemite Valley, you’ll want to stay in a hotel near Yosemite by one of the park entrances closest to the valley: either the Arch Rock entrance near El Portal, or the South Entrance near Oakhurst. Arch Rock is the closer of the two.
An Airbnb near Yosemite National Park may be better for larger groups or anyone planning on visiting for more than a day or two. And if you decide to do Cloud’s Rest instead, you’ll probably want to stay near the East Entrance, in Lee Vining or near Mono Lake. 