Half Dome Permit Lottery: Dates, Odds, and How to Apply

Half Dome’s cable route requires a permit for every hiker, every day the cables are up. Demand runs far ahead of supply, so nearly everyone goes through a lottery. There are two, and knowing how both work roughly doubles your chances.

The preseason lottery (your main shot)

The preseason lottery for day hikers runs March 1–31 on Recreation.gov, with results announced April 11.

Mechanics worth knowing before you apply:

One application per person, period. You may not appear as permit holder or alternate on more than one application. The Park Service cancels every application from anyone who does, and this is the single most common way people disqualify themselves.
Apply for a date range, not one day. A single application can cover a spread of dates, and requesting a wide range materially improves your odds. There’s no penalty for flexibility.
One application covers up to six permits, so a group applies together rather than separately.
Cost: $10 to apply, plus $10 per person if you’re awarded permits.

The daily lottery (your backup)

Missing the preseason lottery isn’t the end of it. A daily lottery runs two days before each hiking date, with applications accepted between 12:00 AM and 4:00 PM Pacific.

This is a genuine second chance rather than a formality, because cancellations and unclaimed permits feed back into it. If your trip dates are flexible and you’re already in the area, it’s worth applying on consecutive days.

Planning around it

Applications open in March, but the cables typically go up in late May and come down in October, so you’re committing to a date months ahead of knowing conditions. Build in the possibility that snow on the sub-dome delays the cable installation in a heavy year.

Note that a Half Dome permit covers the cables, not park entry. You’ll still need a park reservation if Yosemite is running one for your date, and those are a separate system with their own timing.

Before you apply

Confirm the current year’s exact dates and fees with the Park Service. Lottery windows have shifted before, and the fee structure is reviewed periodically.