Inyo National Forest Permit Guide 2026
Last-minute friendly
California · Leashed dogs OK
By Casey Rowan, Permit Ranger
Last updated
Inyo National Forest covers the eastern Sierra Nevada, from the Ansel Adams and John Muir Wildernesses to the trailheads for Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the Lower 48. An Inyo wilderness permit is required for overnight backcountry trips at the forest's quota trailheads, and the most popular entries - including Whitney, Bishop Pass, and the big alpine lake basins - routinely sell out the moment quota opens.
Inyo National Forest issues its wilderness permits through recreation.gov, and popular passes sell out ahead of the season. Rolling 6-month window: 60% of quota opens 6 months ahead, advancing each morning at 7:00 AM Pacific. The remaining 40% drops 14 days before entry at 7:00 AM Pacific. Permit Ranger watches every pass here and alerts you the moment a sold-out date opens.
When permits are released
Rolling 6-month window: 60% of quota opens 6 months ahead, advancing each morning at 7:00 AM Pacific. The remaining 40% drops 14 days before entry at 7:00 AM Pacific.
Your odds
Mount Whitney is the exception inside Inyo: the main Whitney Trail is allocated by a separate February lottery, and the Forest Service's published results show how steep the competition is. The 2023 lottery drew more than 26,000 applications for a season quota of 100 day hikers and 60 overnight backpackers per day, and only about a quarter of applications won anything. Overnight applications fare worse than day-use ones; estimates put overnight success near 1 in 9 for peak summer dates.
The rest of the forest has no lottery at all. Your odds at trailheads like Bishop Pass, Big Pine Lakes, or Kearsarge Pass come down to speed: 60 percent of each trailhead's quota opens on the rolling six-month window at 7:00 AM Pacific, and the famous entries can sell out within minutes for prime weekends.
Two honest second chances exist everywhere in the forest, Whitney included. The 40 percent held-back quota drops 14 days before entry at 7:00 AM Pacific, and cancellations return to the pool all season with no schedule. That reopening inventory is exactly what Permit Ranger watches.
Source: Inyo National Forest published Mount Whitney lottery results (2023 season, the most recent widely reported full figures); overnight success rates are estimates since the Forest Service does not break out exact per-type odds. Last checked July 2026.
Fees
- Reservation: $6 per reservation (non-refundable)
- Per person: $5 per person ($15 per person in the Mt. Whitney Zone)
How to get a Inyo National Forest permit
- Choose your trailhead (each entry point has its own quota) and your entry date.
- For competitive dates, be ready when 60% of the trailhead's quota opens on a rolling six-month window, advancing each morning at 7:00 AM Pacific.
- If you miss the six-month opening, watch for the remaining 40% of the quota, which drops 14 days before the entry date at 7:00 AM Pacific.
- Book your permit on recreation.gov under the Inyo National Forest wilderness permit (233262).
- If your dates are already sold out, keep watching - cancellations return quota to the pool without warning, and Permit Ranger can alert you the moment a spot reopens.
Notable trails
Inyo's quota trailheads open onto some of the Sierra's most storied destinations. A few of the most popular routes:
- River Trail, Thousand Island Lake, Garnet Lake, and Shadow Lake Loop - 5.0 on AllTrails
- June Lake, Yost Creek and Fern Lake Trail - 4.9 on AllTrails
- Duck Pass and Pika Lake Trail - 4.9 on AllTrails
- Little Lakes Valley to Gem Lakes - 4.9 on AllTrails
- Grouse Mountain - 4.9 on AllTrails
- Kearsarge Pass Trail to Kearsarge Lakes - 4.9 on AllTrails
- Kearsarge Pass Trail to John Muir Trail Loop - 4.9 on AllTrails
- Big Pine Lakes Trail - 4.9 on AllTrails
Top passes in this area
The most in-demand Inyo National Forest entry points, each with its own detail page.
- Big Pine Creek North Fork
- Kearsarge Pass
- Cottonwood Lakes
- Shadow Creek
- Piute Pass
- Minaret Lake
- High Trail
- Bishop Pass -South Lake
Frequently asked questions
When do Inyo National Forest permits open?
What if my dates are sold out?
Does Permit Ranger book the permit for me?
More permits in California
- Desolation Wilderness permit guide
- Half Dome Cables permit guide
- Hoover Wilderness permit guide
- Joshua Tree National Park permit guide
- Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks permit guide
- Sierra National Forest permit guide
- Yosemite National Park permit guide
Last-minute & walk-up friendly permits
- Cedar Mesa (Bears Ears) permit guide
- Central Cascades Wilderness permit guide
- Glacier National Park permit guide
- Grand Teton National Park permit guide
- Great Smoky Mountains National Park permit guide
- Hoover Wilderness permit guide
- Indian Peaks: Last-Minute permit guide
- Mount Rainier permit guide
Dog-friendly permits
- Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness permit guide
- Boundary Waters Canoe Area permit guide
- Cedar Mesa (Bears Ears) permit guide
- Central Cascades Wilderness permit guide
- Desolation Wilderness permit guide
- Hoover Wilderness permit guide
- Indian Peaks Wilderness permit guide
- Indian Peaks: Last-Minute permit guide
Plan ahead
- The Mount Whitney lottery, explained
- John Muir Trail permits
- JMT Trip Builder
- Plan a northbound JMT thru-hike from Inyo
- Wilderness permit release calendar
Sold-out dates reopen all the time from cancellations and quota drops. Permit Ranger checks recreation.gov around the clock and alerts you the moment your dates open. It never books for you.