The Half Dome Lottery, Explained

Climbing the Half Dome cables requires a permit awarded by lottery. It is a separate system from Yosemite wilderness permits: there is no availability to watch, but Permit Ranger now tracks Half Dome as its own permit area, with lottery application windows, apply links, and closing reminders for your trip dates.

How the Half Dome lottery works

275 day hikers per day are allowed on the cables while they are up (typically the Friday before Memorial Day through the Tuesday after Columbus Day), plus a share reserved for backpackers.

There are two ways in. The preseason lottery accepts applications on recreation.gov during March, with results in mid-April; you pick up to seven ranked dates per application, and about 225 of the daily permits are awarded here. The daily lottery releases the rest two days before each date, with applications open from midnight to 4:00 PM Pacific and results late that same day.

Backpackers do not use those lotteries: a Yosemite wilderness permit on an itinerary that reasonably passes Half Dome can add Half Dome cables access during booking, subject to its own daily backpacker quota.

How Permit Ranger helps

Lottery applications are not availability, so there is nothing to poll and no honest way to alert on openings. Instead, Permit Ranger tracks the Half Dome lotteries themselves: save a trip with your hiking dates and the dashboard shows the March preseason window and your two-days-before daily application day, with apply links, calendar downloads, and reminders before each window closes. See the Half Dome cables permit guide for the full details.

For backpackers, Permit Ranger also watches Yosemite wilderness permit availability around the clock, including the JMT and Happy Isles trailheads used to reach Half Dome with the wilderness-permit add-on. Cancellations at those trailheads reopen constantly.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get a Half Dome permit without the lottery?

Yes, two ways: the daily lottery two days before your hike, or a Yosemite wilderness permit on a qualifying overnight itinerary with the Half Dome add-on.

Does Permit Ranger alert on Half Dome day-use permits?

There are no availability alerts, because every permit is awarded by lottery - there is nothing to watch. Permit Ranger instead tracks the lottery application windows for your trip dates and reminds you before each one closes.