Half Dome is one of the most iconic day hikes in California. The entire hike is easily accessible but the last ascent up the actual dome requires the aid of cables that have been installed from top to bottom. Even with the cables the going can be slow as it is a precarious ascent. With the growing popularity, lines began to form at the cables and people would wait for hours for their turn to ascend the dome. This wasn’t a great system of forming a line on the ridge so the National Park Service wisely decided to get rid of the line and do a permit system. Now 225 permits are handed out for each day which are handed out in April through a lottery. You must enter the permit lottery on Recreation.gov.
The permit lottery entry period is open throughout the month of March and closes March 31st. Entering the lottery is essential if you want to hike Half Dome and stand atop Yosemite’s most iconic feature. I have been successful getting a permit and there are some details that are helpful to know before you enter. There are also a few tricks to increase your odds of getting a permit in the lottery. Below are 4 tips to help your odds in getting a permit by winning the permit lottery.
Tip #1: Don’t go Saturday
I understand that most people have a tight window in which they can do the hike and Saturday is their only option. However, if you can do any other day then enter those dates. The National Park Service posts the data of the entries in the previous year’s lottery and there are twice as many entries on Saturdays then on the next highest day. If you can go on a weekday, that will greatly increase your odds of getting a permit. Even if you can go on a Friday or Sunday, the chance of getting a permit are significantly higher than on Saturday. Here is a website of all of the odds for the permit drawing.
When I hiked Half Dome, I was working every weekday so I could only go on the weekend. Instead of entering on Saturdays, I entered only Sundays which I believe was a big factor in getting a permit.
Tip #2: Enter multiple times
First a disclaimer. Entering the same name on any permit will immediately disqualify you from the lottery and you will be removed. However, there are ways to get over this hurdle. Each entry requires the name of a trip leader (the person entering) and a secondary leader. This is helpful in that if the trip leader has to cancel, the trip isn’t over for everyone else so you can have an alternate leader. If you have multiple people doing the hike, then you can enter the lottery multiple times. Just be sure not to repeat any names as the trip leader or alternate leader as that will disqualify you from the lottery.
Helpful tip! You can change the name of the alternate trip leader AFTER the lottery. If you get a permit, the trip leader’s name is fixed but, the alternate leader can be changed. If someone wins a permit, the alternate trip leader can be changed if both leaders have to drop out.
Tip #3: Enter 6 dates
There are 6 dates that you are allowed to list for each lottery entry. If you are limited to only a couple of dates that you can hike Half Dome, that will seriously hurt your odds of winning a permit. When you are entering, be sure to take advantage of all 6 dates that you are allowed to enter to increase your odds of getting a permit.
Tip #4: Pick a date later in the season
Hiking up the dome using cables carries some inherent risk. It can be dangerous with bad weather and it can be extremely dangerous to ascend the cables during a thunderstorm due to both rain and lightning. While rain is equally unlikely during each of the summer months, late May has a higher probability of rain. Additionally, the scheduled opening of the cables can be postponed. If you succeed in getting a permit in the lottery for a specific date when the cables are closed, you’re simply out of luck. In order to prevent this from happening, I would advise avoiding the first couple of weeks that the cables will be up.
Another benefit of picking a date later in the season is simply the odds of winning a permit. June has the highest amount of entries and the later you go, the higher your odds become. Picking a date (or dates) in September can increase your odds of getting a permit.
What if you don’t win the Half Dome permit lottery
The results of the lottery should be available on April 10th. If that date comes and you fail to get a permit or, if you didn’t apply in time. Don’t worry, there are still some options available to you.
Daily Lottery
The National Park Service presumes that there will be some unfulfilled permits so they give out additional permits each day. Around 50 additional permits are released for each day. You can apply for these permits 2 days before the date of the hike and you will be notified that evening if you were successful. The success rate for the daily lottery is actually very similar to the preseason lottery so it’s not a bad option.
Hiking without a permit
The National Park Service is very strict on hiking without a permit. A ranger is stationed at the subdome to check permits so this isn’t an optional feature. The only section that you will need your permit is at the base of the subdome. However, if you don’t want to ascend Half Dome via the cables you don’t even need to worry about getting a permit!
If you want to make it to the top of Half Dome and don’t have a permit, one option is to hike to the base of the subdome and hope someone has extra unused spots on their permit. This is a risky proposition and I would hate to hike the whole way just hoping to get lucky. However, it is certainly a viable solution. When I hiked Half Dome, there were some people who were waiting at the subdome hoping to jump on someone’s permit. I had some open spots on ours so I let them ride on our coattails. I asked them how long they had waited and I was expecting it to have been around an hour but they only had to wait for 15 minutes! So while I wouldn’t recommend it, it is an option worth considering.
Hiking Half Dome is certainly worth jumping through the hoops of deal with the permit system. The accomplishment of reaching the top of such an iconic dome along with the beauty of the hike and the thrill of the cables, absolutely make hiking Half Dome a bucket-list worthy hike.
