Half Dome Permits
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 growing popularity, lines began to form at the cables and people would wait for hours for their turn to ascend the dome. It wasn’t ideal having a line of people on an exposed 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 in April through a lottery. With the preseason lottery over, many people are doubtless disappointed having failed to receive a permit. However, your hope is not lost as there are still a few options open to you.
What if you don’t win the Half Dome permit lottery
If April 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.
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. If you choose the daily lottery you will probably need to ‘play it by ear’ as 2 days isn’t a lot time to prepare beforehand. I would recommend planning a trip to Yosemite ahead of time and then having a fall back option if you fail to succeed in the lottery. (BTW hiking Clouds Rest is a great secondary option to Half Dome with a similar challenge and comparable views.)
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 90% of way only to be unable to ascend the dome. However, it is certainly a viable solution with a decent probability of success. When I hiked Half Dome last year, 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 expecting it to have been around an hour and 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 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.
