Most people don’t fail at Half Dome because of the hike. They fail before they even leave home — because they didn’t understand the permit lottery, missed a deadline, or applied on the wrong day. The trail is brutal, sure. But the half dome permit lottery is the part that trips up even seasoned hikers.
I’ve watched friends plan entire California trips around a single Half Dome day, only to realize in April that they’d missed the preseason window. So let’s fix that. Here’s exactly how the lottery works, what your odds really are, and what to do if you strike out.
Quick answer: The Half Dome permit lottery has two parts — a preseason lottery (March 1–31, results in mid-April) covering the whole cables season, and a daily lottery two days before each hike date. Preseason odds run around 18–22%; daily odds vary by date and are often lower on weekends. Permits cost $10 to apply plus $10 per person if you win.
What the Half Dome Permit Lottery Actually Is
Half Dome sits roughly 4,800 feet above the floor of Yosemite Valley, and the final stretch to the summit runs up a set of steel cables bolted into bare granite. Because that section is dangerous when crowded, the National Park Service caps the number of hikers allowed past the Subdome checkpoint to around 300 people a day. A permit is the only thing that gets you past that checkpoint.
Without one, you can still hike the Mist Trail past Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall, or climb to the Subdome itself for a jaw-dropping view — you just can’t legally touch the cables.
Permits are only required while the cables are installed, typically late May through mid-October, though exact dates shift with snowpack and weather each year. Check the NPS Half Dome page before locking in travel dates, since a late snow season can push cable installation back.
Preseason Lottery — Dates, Rules, and How to Apply
This is the lottery almost everyone should enter first. It covers the entire season in one shot.
- Application window: March 1–31, every year, through Recreation.gov (or by phone).
- No advantage to applying early. Someone who applies on March 31 has identical odds to someone who applied on March 1.
- You can request multiple dates — most applications allow six or seven date choices, and you’ll only be awarded a permit if at least one of your requested dates has space.
- Group size: up to six people per application, and if you’re selected, all six are confirmed together.
- One name, one application. Your name can appear on exactly one application as either trip leader or alternate. If it shows up on two, both get cancelled — no exceptions.
- Alternate holder: you can name one alternate who can lead the group if the main permit holder can’t make the trip. Skipping this is a small mistake that quietly ruins a lot of otherwise-valid permits.
- Results: announced in mid-to-late April.
Daily Lottery — Your Backup Plan
Didn’t win the preseason lottery, or decided to hike on a whim? There’s a second chance every single day of the season.
- When to apply: exactly two days before your target hike date.
- Window: applications open at midnight and close at 4:00 pm Pacific.
- Results: emailed that same evening, so you’ll know by the next morning whether you’re hiking.
- Volume: roughly 50 permits go out through the daily lottery, though the exact number depends on how many preseason permits go unused or get cancelled.
- No entry limit: you can apply to the daily lottery as many times across the season as you want — you just pay the $10 application fee each time.
What It Costs
Simple, but worth spelling out because a lot of guides gloss over it:
| Fee | Amount | When Charged |
|---|---|---|
| Application fee | $10 | Every entry, win or lose |
| Permit fee | $10 per person | Only if you win |
So a family of four that wins pays $10 to apply plus $40 in permit fees — $50 total. If you don’t win, you’re only out the $10 application fee.
Your Real Odds (With the Actual Numbers)
Odds are where most articles get vague. Here’s what NPS’s own 2024 data actually showed:
- 35,289 preseason applications were submitted.
- Overall preseason application success rate: about 22%.
- Individual weekday date choices succeeded about 1.0% of the time; weekend choices succeeded about 0.8% of the time — a reminder that success rate for the whole application is very different from the odds of any single date you pick.
- Daily lottery success generally runs 5% to 20%, and it’s consistently lower on weekends.
The takeaway: your overall chance of getting some permit through the preseason lottery is decent if you list several dates, but your chance of getting one specific Saturday is much lower than the headline number suggests.
Quick takeaway: Applying with a full group of six and multiple weekday date options gives you meaningfully better odds than applying solo for a single Saturday.
How to Improve Your Chances
- List several dates, and lean weekday. Weekday demand is lower, so weekday choices succeed more often in both lotteries.
- Apply with a group. More names on one application doesn’t multiply odds mathematically, but grouping up means you’re not burning separate applications (remember — one name, one application, ever).
- Try shoulder season. Late September and early October see demand drop off while the cables are often still installed. Fewer people means better daily-lottery odds.
- Use the daily lottery as a real strategy, not just a backup. Since you can enter as many times as you want across the season, watching the weather and applying two days out for a promising forecast is a legitimate approach, not a fallback.
- Watch for cancellations. Awarded permits get returned to the system constantly throughout the season as people cancel. Tools like PermitSnag monitor Recreation.gov around the clock and alert you the moment a spot frees up, which is genuinely useful if your dates are flexible. You can also just refresh Recreation.gov manually during peak cancellation windows (evenings, and the day before a hike date) if you’d rather not use a third-party tool.
You Won — Now What?
This is the step most guides skip entirely, and it’s the one that quietly costs people their permit.
Winning the preseason lottery isn’t automatic — unlike the daily lottery, which charges your card right away, you have to actively log in and accept your preseason permit, then pay the $10-per-person fee yourself. You’ll get an email notification around mid-April, and you typically have until about April 24 to accept and pay. Miss that window, and your permit is simply cancelled and released back into the pool.
Bring a government-issued photo ID that matches the name on your permit — rangers check ID at the checkpoint below the Subdome, and a mismatched name will turn you away regardless of how legitimate your permit is.
No Permit? You Can Still See Half Dome
If the lottery doesn’t work out, you haven’t wasted the trip:
- Hike to Subdome. You still need a permit for this technically, but the views from below, along the Mist Trail toward Vernal and Nevada Falls, are permit-free and spectacular on their own.
- Nevada Fall. The top of Nevada Fall gives you a genuinely great Half Dome view with zero permit required.
- Glacier Point at sunset. Alpenglow turns the granite face orange and pink — one of the most photographed views in the park, no cables involved.
- Valley View at sunrise. The classic Ansel Adams-style shot, with Half Dome reflected in the Merced River.
The Bottom Line
The Half Dome permit lottery isn’t complicated once you see the two tracks clearly: enter the preseason lottery in March with several weekday dates and a full group, then treat the daily lottery as an ongoing backup you can hit repeatedly through the season. Build in a plan B — Subdome, Nevada Fall, or Glacier Point — and you’ll have a great Yosemite trip whether or not the cables happen this time.
Ready to apply? Head to Recreation.gov during the March window, and double-check current season dates on the official NPS Half Dome page before you finalize travel.
Looking for your next adventure? Explore our California travel guides for more.
FAQ Section
When does the Half Dome preseason lottery open?
It runs March 1 through March 31 every year on Recreation.gov. Results come out in mid-to-late April, and there’s no benefit to applying on day one versus day 31.
How much does a Half Dome permit cost?
$10 to apply, whether or not you win, plus $10 per person if you’re awarded a permit. A group of four paying successfully spends $50 total.
What are the actual odds of winning the Half Dome lottery?
Preseason applications succeed about 22% of the time overall, but individual date choices succeed only around 1% for weekdays and 0.8% for weekends. Daily lottery odds range roughly 5–20%, lower on weekends.
Can you hike Half Dome without a permit?
You can hike the Mist Trail to Vernal and Nevada Falls, and even up to the Subdome, without a cables permit. You just can’t legally continue past the checkpoint onto the cables themselves.
What happens after you win the preseason lottery?
You must log in and actively accept your permit, then pay the per-person fee yourself by around April 24. Unlike the daily lottery, nothing is charged automatically — miss the deadline and the permit is cancelled.
How many people can I include on one Half Dome application?
Up to six per application. If you’re selected, all six names are confirmed together. Each person’s name can only appear on one application per season, as either trip leader or alternate.
What’s the daily lottery application window?
Applications open at midnight and close at 4:00 pm Pacific, exactly two days before your target hike date. Results are emailed that evening.
Is there an ID requirement at the checkpoint?
Yes. Rangers check government-issued photo ID against the name on your permit at the checkpoint below the Subdome, so make sure the applicant list matches everyone’s legal names exactly.
