How to get in02 pathsLottery
Half Dome
Cables route day hikes need a permit drawn in preseason or daily lotteries.
Day trip
HikeStrenuousPhysical effort · Estimate
Strenuous — Long miles, elevation, or sustained hard effort.
Very long day with major elevation gain; cables section is exposed.
Editorial estimate of the typical trip — not lottery hardness, and not an Official agency grade.
Good fitStrong day hikers who will enter the lottery season and treat cables access as the goal.
Usually notCasual valley visitors who want Half Dome as a spontaneous add-on.
Lottery type
Preseason Lottery
Historical success rate
22%
NPS Yosemite — Half Dome Permit Lottery Statistics · for 2024 · We checked 2026-09-20
When to apply
Window closed
Mar 1 – Mar 31
Preseason lottery · Official dates
Application period March 1–31 (Eastern). Results mid-April. Confirm on NPS / Recreation.gov each year.
We checked 2026-09-22
The managing agency (and Recreation.gov when the product lives there) is authoritative for dates, fees, and whether registration is open. We summarize — always confirm on the official page before you apply.
If you miss this window, try these instead:
- Daily lottery
- Other Yosemite cables-free classics
Sources & notes
- NPS Yosemite — Half Dome Permit Lottery Statistics · for 2024 · We checked 2026-09-20
Application success rate (whole application). Per-date-choice rates were ~1.0% weekday / 0.8% weekend.
Lottery type
Daily Lottery
Historical success rate
19%
NPS Yosemite — Half Dome Permit Lottery Statistics · for 2024 · We checked 2026-09-20
When to apply
Daily lottery
Official timing
Apply midnight–4pm Pacific, two days before the hike date.
We checked 2026-09-22
The managing agency (and Recreation.gov when the product lives there) is authoritative for dates, fees, and whether registration is open. We summarize — always confirm on the official page before you apply.
If you miss this window, try these instead:
- Mist Trail to Vernal / Nevada Fall without cables
Sources & notes
- NPS Yosemite — Half Dome Permit Lottery Statistics · for 2024 · We checked 2026-09-20
Overall 19%; weekday ~22%, weekend ~14% (2024).
Backup options
Nearby or alternate ways in if these draws miss.
- Daily lottery
- Other Yosemite cables-free classics
- Mist Trail to Vernal / Nevada Fall without cables
Field notes
All field notesPlaybooks for the confusing parts of applying — not live calendars.
- Desert and Sierra when you have one weekDesert day-hike lottery or Sierra overnight permit — what fits one week off
- How to order a hard-ticket yearHow to prioritize national park lotteries and permits for one trip year
- How to read a place pageHow to read a park permit page before you apply on Recreation.gov
- Which Recreation.gov product is this?Recreation.gov parking vs timed entry vs lottery — how to pick the right one
Dates, group rules, a backup, entry day — the apply checklist is under Before you go
The managing agency (and Recreation.gov when the product lives there) is authoritative for dates, fees, and whether registration is open. We summarize — always confirm on the official page before you apply. NPS publishes multi-year lottery statistics (applications, success rates by weekday/weekend) — excellent official source. About Official / Estimate / Not confirmed yet