When do the Half Dome cables close in 2026?

The cables are scheduled to come down at the end of the permit season on October 13, 2026. No cable hikes are permitted after that date, and the sub-dome access is closed for the winter.

How do I enter the Half Dome daily lottery for last-minute dates?

Lottery only - no first-come sales. The preseason lottery accepts applications March 1-31 (results mid-April); the daily lottery runs two days before each hiking date, midnight to 4:00 PM Pacific, while the cables are up. Enter on recreation.gov during the daily lottery window (midnight–4:00 PM Pacific), two days before your intended hike date. The fee is $10 per lottery application (non-refundable) per application, and an additional $10 per person if awarded is charged if you are awarded a permit.

Is it worth applying for Half Dome permits in October?

Yes. Late-season weekdays draw fewer lottery applications than peak summer weekends - no official odds data is published, but the applicant pool is observably smaller. The cables remain up through October 13, 2026, and early October can offer excellent summit conditions, though daylight is shorter and weather windows tighter, so logistics require more planning.

Do canceled Half Dome permits come back into the system?

Yes. When a permit holder cancels, the permit returns to recreation.gov and becomes available to other hikers. Cancellations follow no predictable schedule - they appear at any hour - which is why automated alerts are the most reliable way to catch them before they disappear again.

What happens if I win a Half Dome lottery but conditions are unsafe on my hike day?

Your permit is date-specific and non-transferable. If you choose not to hike due to weather or unsafe conditions on the cables, the permit goes unused. You cannot defer it to another date. Cancel it on recreation.gov so the slot returns to other hikers, and re-enter the lottery for a new date if the season allows.

Half Dome Cables Close 2026: How to Land a Permit Before the Season Ends

By Casey Rowan, Permit Ranger · Field Notes · 2026-09-22

Illustration: Permit Ranger

Half Dome Permit Season End 2026: Get In Before the Cables Come Down

The Half Dome Cables permit season closes on October 13, 2026. After that date, the cables are removed and the sub-dome is closed for the season. If you haven't hiked it yet this year, the daily lottery is your fastest remaining path - and cancellations are still trickling back into the system every week.

This guide covers how the end-of-season lottery works, why the final weeks behave differently than midsummer, and what you should actually do today if you want to stand on the summit before the cables come down.

Official permit details and lottery entry live on recreation.gov. Conditions, trail closures, and forecast information are maintained by the National Park Service.

How the Half Dome Permit System Works at Season's End

The Half Dome Cables permit operates on two tracks: a preseason lottery held in March and a daily lottery that runs for the rest of the cable season. By the time you're reading this in September or early October, the preseason lottery is long closed. The daily lottery is the only door still open.

Lottery only - no first-come sales. The preseason lottery accepts applications March 1-31 (results mid-April); the daily lottery runs two days before each hiking date, midnight to 4:00 PM Pacific, while the cables are up.

That window - midnight to 4:00 PM Pacific, two days before your intended hiking date - is not soft. Miss the cutoff and the system closes the lottery for that date, full stop. Plan around it.

The application fee is $10 per lottery application (non-refundable), charged whether or not you win. If you are awarded a permit, an additional $10 per person if awarded applies per person in your group. Budget accordingly if you plan to enter multiple dates back-to-back.

Why Late-Season Dates Are Worth Chasing

Midsummer weekends are the most contested windows of the year. The crowd thins meaningfully by mid-September. Fall hikers face shorter daylight, cooler temperatures, and in some years early snow at the summit - the dome tops out at 8,842 ft / 2,695 m (NPS) - factors that deter casual applicants.

No official lottery odds figures are published by the NPS or recreation.gov for any period, so this piece won't invent them. What is observable: late-season weekdays draw fewer applications than an August Saturday. You are competing against a smaller pool. That is a structural advantage, not a guarantee.

The cables are up through October 13, 2026. Dates in the final two or three weeks of the season can deliver among the best summit experiences of the year: lower granite temperatures, clearer air after summer smoke clears, and dramatically fewer people on the trail below. If you have flexibility across multiple dates, apply for a weekday in early October before the season ends.

The Daily Lottery: A Realistic Walk-Through

Here is the sequence, stripped of confusion:

Decide your target date. You must enter the lottery exactly two days before the hike date. For a summit attempt on a Friday, you enter on Wednesday.
Open recreation.gov at midnight Pacific. The lottery window opens at midnight and closes at 4:00 PM Pacific. Earlier is not meaningfully better inside that window - this is a lottery, not a queue - but do not let the day slip by.
Select your group size carefully. The permit is issued to a group. Larger groups are statistically harder to fit, and the per-person fee applies to everyone awarded. Know your headcount before you apply.
Check your results. Results are posted to your recreation.gov account; check after the 4:00 PM window closes.
Pay immediately. Unpaid permits can be released. Don't sit on the confirmation.

If you lose - and most entrants do on any given day - apply again for the next available date. There is no penalty for entering on consecutive days.

Cancellations: The Second Path That Most People Miss

Permit holders cancel. They cancel when weather forecasts turn bad, when travel plans collapse, when someone in the group gets injured. Those permits don't evaporate - they return to the pool on recreation.gov, usually with no notice and no pattern.

Cancellations can surface at 6 AM on a Tuesday or at 11 PM the night before the hike. This is not a system you can monitor manually for three weeks and expect to catch anything. Software watching the inventory around the clock is the only realistic way to capture these.

Permit Ranger watches Half Dome Cables continuously and sends an alert the instant a canceled permit reappears on your target dates - so you can act in the window before someone else does. We alert; we never book on your behalf. You still complete the transaction on recreation.gov. That speed advantage is the entire point.

For the final weeks of the season, cancellations become more common, not less. People who held permits optimistically through September sometimes surrender them when October weekend weather looks uncertain. Watch those dates closely.

Trail Logistics for a Late-Season Attempt

Daylight is shorter. By early October, usable hiking daylight drops noticeably from its August peak. The round-trip from Happy Isles is long and strenuous. An early start is not optional for a late-season cable attempt - no later than 6:00 AM in October given roughly 12 hours round-trip - that is how you avoid descending in the dark. The NPS trail conditions page publishes current guidance on start times and conditions.

Weather windows tighten. Afternoon thunderstorms are less common in October than July, but the Sierra Nevada can deliver early-season snow at elevation. Check the National Park Service forecast for Yosemite Valley and the high country separately. A clear valley does not guarantee a dry summit dome.

The cables are steel and steep. Wet granite combined with steel cables is a serious hazard. If the dome top is wet, turn around. This is not a judgment call you should make lightly - people have died on the cables in poor conditions. The permit is not worth the exposure.

Post-hike trailhead logistics. Yosemite Valley parking is managed separately from the Half Dome permit. Confirm your arrival strategy - shuttle, reserved parking, or early-morning entry - before the hike day. Valley congestion does not care that you have a hard-won permit.

For broader Yosemite trip logistics, see the Yosemite National Park permits guide.

What to Do Right Now

If the season end date is within reach and you don't have a permit yet, here is the short list:

Enter the daily lottery today for the first available date you can actually hike. Two days out from today is the earliest option.
Identify two or three flexible date options and be ready to enter on each of those days. Do not enter for a date you cannot commit to - you lose the $10 per lottery application (non-refundable) and waste a slot another hiker needed.
Set up a cancellation alert for your target dates. Late-season drops are real and they move fast.
Watch the weather forecast starting five days out. Build a go/no-go decision point into your plan so you're not making it at the trailhead.

The official permit system for Half Dome Cables lives on recreation.gov. That is where the lottery entry happens and where cancellations reappear.

Season-End FAQ

FAQ

When do the Half Dome cables close in 2026?: The cables are scheduled to come down at the end of the permit season on October 13, 2026. No cable hikes are permitted after that date, and the sub-dome access is closed for the winter.
How do I enter the Half Dome daily lottery for last-minute dates?: Lottery only - no first-come sales. The preseason lottery accepts applications March 1-31 (results mid-April); the daily lottery runs two days before each hiking date, midnight to 4:00 PM Pacific, while the cables are up. Enter on recreation.gov during the daily lottery window (midnight–4:00 PM Pacific), two days before your intended hike date. The fee is $10 per lottery application (non-refundable) per application, and an additional $10 per person if awarded is charged if you are awarded a permit.
Is it worth applying for Half Dome permits in October?: Yes. Late-season weekdays draw fewer lottery applications than peak summer weekends - no official odds data is published, but the applicant pool is observably smaller. The cables remain up through October 13, 2026, and early October can offer excellent summit conditions, though daylight is shorter and weather windows tighter, so logistics require more planning.
Do canceled Half Dome permits come back into the system?: Yes. When a permit holder cancels, the permit returns to recreation.gov and becomes available to other hikers. Cancellations follow no predictable schedule - they appear at any hour - which is why automated alerts are the most reliable way to catch them before they disappear again.
What happens if I win a Half Dome lottery but conditions are unsafe on my hike day?: Your permit is date-specific and non-transferable. If you choose not to hike due to weather or unsafe conditions on the cables, the permit goes unused. You cannot defer it to another date. Cancel it on recreation.gov so the slot returns to other hikers, and re-enter the lottery for a new date if the season allows.

Watching beats refreshing.

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