Most people think there's one Half Dome lottery, that it happens in March, and that if they don't win it, the dream is dead for the year. All three of those things are wrong, or at least incomplete, and the misunderstanding is the biggest reason that people who could absolutely have hiked Half Dome this year ended up not hiking Half Dome this year.
There are two lotteries. The first is the preseason lottery, which runs through March with results in mid-April. The second is the daily lottery, which runs every single day the cables are up. Almost nobody talks about the second one, which is strange, because it's how a meaningful number of permits get distributed every season.
Here's how to think about both, in plain language, with the math. Every fact below comes from the National Park Service and Recreation.gov, the only two sources that matter. If you just need the calendar, the odds, and the strategy in brief, the Half Dome lottery page is the short version, kept current each season.
Half Dome has steel cables bolted into the granite for the last 400 vertical feet of the climb. The cables typically go up the Friday before Memorial Day and come down the day after the second Monday in October (Columbus Day). Those dates shift based on conditions: snow on the route, crew availability, weather. But that's the normal window.
While the cables are up, you need a permit to be on the subdome or the cables. Not just the cables, the subdome too. The permit checkpoint is at the base of the subdome steps, staffed by rangers who check your permit, your photo ID, and your confirmation email. Everyone in your group has to be there together. No permit means you turn around. No exceptions.
This is federal law, not a suggestion. Ascending the subdome or cables without a permit is a violation of 36 CFR 1.6 and is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 and/or six months in jail. Rangers enforce this. Don't test it.
A maximum of 300 hikers per day are allowed past the subdome checkpoint. That breaks down to about 225 day hikers and 75 backpackers. Day hikers get their permits through the lottery system described here. Backpackers get theirs through the separate wilderness permit system. If you're planning an overnight trip that includes Half Dome, apply for a wilderness permit that includes the Half Dome add-on, not a day-hiker lottery permit.
Both day-hiker lotteries are run through Recreation.gov. Both charge a $10 non-refundable application fee per application (not per person). If you win, there's an additional $10 per person recreation fee. So if you and three friends apply and win, you've paid $10 to apply and $40 for your four permits. That's $50 total for one of the best hikes in the national park system.
This is the one everyone has heard of. The application window runs from March 1 through March 31 (Eastern time). Results are emailed in mid-April. You can also check results online or by calling Recreation.gov.
Here's what you need to know about your application.
Group size. You can apply for up to six people on one application. Everyone in the group hikes together. The permit holder (or alternate) must be present at the checkpoint with the entire group.
Date choices. You can list up to seven date or date-range choices, ranked in order of preference. The system tries to match you with your highest-preference date that has available permits. If your top choice is full, it moves to your second choice, and so on.
Permit holder and alternate. You must name a permit holder on your application. You should also name an alternate. One of these two people must be physically present with the group at the checkpoint with a government-issued photo ID matching the name on the permit. You can only add an alternate during the application period. Once March 31 passes, you can't add or change them. The alternate must have or create a Recreation.gov account and accept the alternate role within 72 hours of being added. If they don't accept in time, they're not on the permit.
One application per person. Each person can appear as a permit holder or alternate on only one preseason application. If your name shows up on two applications (as a holder on one and an alternate on another, for example), all of your applications get cancelled without refund.
The numbers. In 2024, 35,289 preseason applications were submitted. The overall application success rate was 22%. That means roughly four out of five applications didn't get a permit for any of their requested dates. Saturday is the most popular day, attracting about 21% of all applications. When you look at individual date choices rather than whole applications, the success rate drops further: about 1.0% for weekday choices and 0.8% for weekend choices. Those numbers reflect the fact that most applications list multiple dates and only one date gets filled.
This is the lottery almost no one talks about. It distributes additional permits every day the cables are up, based on estimated rates of cancellation and under-use from the preseason lottery.
Here's how the timing works.
Apply: Two days before your planned hike date, submit an application on Recreation.gov between midnight and 4:00 PM Pacific time. So to hike on Saturday, you apply on Thursday.
Results: Late that same evening (Thursday night in this example). You get an email. Results are also available online or by phone the next morning.
Hike: The day after results (Saturday in this example).
The daily lottery is simpler than the preseason in a few ways. You can apply for up to six people, but there's no alternate, just a permit holder. And if you're selected, your credit or debit card is automatically charged the $10 per person fee. If the charge is declined for any reason, the permit is forfeited.
The numbers. In 2024, 35,561 daily lottery applications were submitted, actually more than the preseason lottery. The overall success rate was 19%. Weekday success rate was about 22%. Weekend success rate was about 14%. Late season weekdays (late August through October) have the best odds of any daily lottery window.
Here's what I tell people who are serious about hiking Half Dome.
Use all seven date choices on your preseason application. If you can only do one specific date, your odds are the published odds, roughly one in five. If you can list seven dates spread across the season, you're rolling the dice seven times in one application. The more flexible you are, the better your chances.
Front-load your application with less popular dates. The system fills your highest-preference date first. If you put Saturday July 11 as your first choice, you're competing with the largest applicant pool of the season. If you put Tuesday September 9 as your first choice and Saturday July 11 as your fourth, you might get the Tuesday, and you'll still be hiking Half Dome. Weekdays in late August and September are the sweet spot: fewer applicants, cooler temperatures, shorter days that thin the crowds, and the cables are still up.
Enter both lotteries. Apply for the preseason in March. If you get it, great. If you don't, the daily lottery is still there once you're in the park. Plan your trip so that the Half Dome hike falls in the middle of your visit, not on day one. That way, if you don't win the daily lottery on your first try, you can apply again the next day, and the next. Each try costs $10 per application, and each one is an independent shot.
Avoid Saturdays. Saturday is the most-requested day in both lotteries. Sunday is second. Tuesday through Thursday are the least competitive. If you can shift your hike from Saturday to Tuesday, your odds roughly double in the daily lottery (14% weekends vs. 22% weekdays in 2024).
Groups of more than six need to split. The maximum group size per application is six people. If you have eight people, submit two applications under two different permit holders. Each application is entered independently. Your odds of at least one winning are better than one application for a large group. Just remember: each person can only appear on one application.
Don't forget the alternate. In the preseason lottery, naming an alternate gives you flexibility. If the permit holder can't make it, the alternate can lead the group. Without an alternate, if the permit holder is sick on hike day, the whole group is out. The alternate must accept within 72 hours during the application period. Confirm this with your alternate before the window closes.
Read your confirmation email carefully. Print it or download it to your phone before you start hiking. Cell service is unreliable at the subdome checkpoint. Bring your government-issued photo ID.
Get to the trailhead at Happy Isles before dawn. The hike is 14 to 16 miles round trip with 4,800 feet of elevation gain. Most people take 10 to 12 hours. Starting by 5 AM (earlier is better) gives you time to summit and descend before afternoon thunderstorms. Have a non-negotiable turnaround time: if you haven't reached the summit by 3:30 PM, turn around regardless. You do not want to be on the cables in a lightning storm or descending the Mist Trail in the dark without a headlamp.
Check the weather forecast obsessively in the days before your hike. Nearly all fatal falls from the cables have happened when the rock was wet. If rain is in the forecast, consider cancelling your permit. The $10 per person recreation fee is fully refundable if you cancel by 11:59 PM Pacific time the day before your hike date, or if the cables aren't up on your date. Don't let sunk cost thinking put you on wet granite at 45 degrees.
For a full gear list, see the day pack guide. Bring at least a gallon (4 liters) of water. Bring gloves with good grip for the cables, and pack them out when you're done. Hundreds of pounds of rotting gloves accumulate at the base of the cables every season.
For more on what the hike itself is like, and a strong argument for an alternative, see So You Want to Hike Half Dome.
Don't give up. Here's the playbook, in order.
Run the daily lottery every day of your trip. Each application is $10 and each is an independent chance. If you're in the park for five days and you apply every eligible morning, you've got five shots at roughly 20% odds each. The math works out to about a 67% chance of winning at least once over five weekday attempts. That's real.
If you still can't get a permit, don't go anyway. I know it's tempting. Rangers are at the checkpoint, they check every group, and the fine is up to $5,000. It's not worth it. People try, people get caught, and the citation follows you.
Consider the backpacker route. If you have a wilderness permit for a trip that passes through Little Yosemite Valley, you can add Half Dome to your wilderness permit. The backpacker allocation is separate from the day-hiker lottery. This requires an overnight trip with a bear canister and wilderness gear, but it's a legitimate path to the cables that bypasses the day-hiker lottery entirely. Apply through the wilderness permit system, not the Half Dome lottery.
Hike Clouds Rest instead. I wrote a whole article about why Clouds Rest is the better hike for most people. Summit elevation of 9,926 feet, more than a thousand feet higher than Half Dome. No permit needed. Available as soon as Tioga Road opens. The views are bigger in every direction, and on a Tuesday in June, you might have the summit to yourself.
Come back for late-season midweek. If this year doesn't work out, the best daily lottery odds of the entire season are weekdays in September and early October. Plan a trip specifically for that window. The cables are still up, the crowds have thinned, the fall light is extraordinary, and your odds of getting a permit are the best they'll be all year.
The $10 application fee is non-refundable no matter what. It's the cost of entering the lottery.
The $10 per person recreation fee is fully refundable if you cancel by 11:59 PM Pacific time the day before your hike date. It's also refundable if the cables aren't up on your date (which can happen due to early season snow or late-season weather). You can cancel or reduce your group size through your Recreation.gov account or by calling 877-444-6777.
Permits cannot be resold or auctioned. Any attempt to resell a permit makes it void.
| Detail | Preseason Lottery | Daily Lottery |
|---|---|---|
| Application window | March 1 to 31 (Eastern time) | Midnight to 4 PM Pacific, 2 days before hike |
| Results | Mid-April via email | Late evening, same day as application |
| Permits available | ~225/day | Variable (cancellations + set-aside) |
| Group size | Up to 6 people | Up to 6 people |
| Date choices | Up to 7 dates/ranges | Single date only |
| Alternate permitted | Yes (must accept in 72 hrs) | No |
| Application fee | $10 per application | $10 per application |
| Permit fee | $10 per person (if awarded) | $10 per person (auto-charged) |
| 2024 success rate | 22% (applications) | 19% (applications) |
| Best odds | Weekdays, late season | Weekdays, September to October |
| Where to apply | Recreation.gov/permits/234652 | Recreation.gov/permits/234652 |
A few details that trip people up.
The permit is valid for a single day, midnight to 11:59 PM. There's no multi-day option for day hikers.
The permit holder's name cannot be changed after the application is submitted. Neither can the alternate's. Get the names right the first time.
Cell service is unreliable at the subdome checkpoint (around 8,000 feet on the trail). Download your confirmation email or print it before you leave the Valley.
Half Dome day-hiker permits do not include any camping or lodging. If you want to camp in Little Yosemite Valley or anywhere along the route, you need a wilderness permit, not a day-hiker lottery permit.
If you still have questions, call the wilderness office at 209-372-0826 (Monday through Friday, 9 AM to noon and 1 PM to 4:30 PM, late May through early October).