North Dome Trail
Rim of Yosemite Valley
WELCOME TO YOSEMITEME!
WHAT TO DO
BACKPACKING
BACKPACKING
Value/Cost
Skill Level
Supplies Needed
Accessibility
Quick Glance
WHAT: For the purpose of this website and National Park Regulations, backpacking means hiking into the 95% of Yosemite National Park that is defined as “Wilderness” (i.e., undeveloped areas) via any of its 750 miles of trails at varying elevations and ecological zones, and staying overnight while carrying all of your needed supplies with you (e.g., food, tent, stove, etc.).
For information about staying at Yosemite’s High Sierra Camps, click here. See Rock Climbing page for more information on overnight Climbing Permits.
Backpacking in Yosemite is highly regulated due to the high demand for trips into its backcountry. Consequently, careful planning is essential to ensure your maximum enjoyment and safety.
A Wilderness Permit is mandatory year-round for overnight backpacking trips and must be possessed by the group leader (or alternate) at all times. Sixty percent of Wilderness Permits are issued through a “Pre-Season Lottery” for travel between May 25 and October 22. The remaining 40% are issued through a “Week-Ahead Reservation” process for that time period (see WHEN and HOW below for obtaining a Wilderness Permit). Permits for travel between October 22 and May 27 can be obtained without reservations or fees at designated self-registration stations or issuing Wilderness Centers (see list here).
Wilderness Permits cannot be used for campgrounds, day hike permits (e.g., Half Dome), or lodging facilities (although a permit will be issued when awarded lodging from the High Sierra Camp Lottery, which is reserved through TravelYosemite.com; and a Half Dome permit will be considered if requested for backcountry trails that pass by Half Dome--recreation.gov will indicate which trailheads are eligible for Half Dome Permits).
BEING BEAR-WISE: Bear canisters are required as a means of storing food overnight in the wilderness. They can be rented for $5.00 (US) when you pick up your permit between May and October. Otherwise, you must supply your own. The High Sierra Camps Backpacker campgrounds do have food storage lockers, but a bear canister is needed for travel between camps.
WHEN: Although access to Yosemite’s wilderness is available year-round (weather permitting), backpackers starting trips May 28 through October 14 must be issued a Wilderness Permit through a “Pre-Season
1. 95% of Yosemite is
open for backpacking..
2. A Wilderness Permit is
required at all times for
overnight stays in
Yosemite's backcountry..
3. 60% of Permits for trips
from May 25 to October 22 are issued via a "Pre-
Season Lottery" 24 weeks
before the week of your
start date on
recreation.gov..
4. 40% of Permits for trips
from May 25 to October 22 are issued via a "Week- Ahead" Reservation System 7 days before your start date on recreation.gov.
5. Each Pre-Season
Lottery or Week-Ahead
Reservation request costs
$10. If you win a Permit,
you will be charged $5 per
person.
F
6. From October 22 to April
28, there is no charge for
Permits and they must be
picked up at Permit Sta-
tions or Wilderness Cent-
ers.
7. Trips must start at a valid
"Entry Point" Trailhead.
Know where you will sleep
each night.
8. Be "Bear Wise." You can
rent a Bear Canister for $5
when you pick up your
Permit.
9. "Leave No Trace" of your
visit.
Lottery.” Sixty percent of the Permits will be issued during the lottery 24 weeks in advance of the week of your start date (for 2023, the lottery application period is every Sunday (12:01 am PDT) through Saturday (11:59 pm PDT) from November 14, 2022, through May 7, 2023). Permits that have not been awarded in the lottery are available 12 days after the start date of each weekly lottery (about 22 weeks before your trip) on a first-come, first-served basis until seven days before the start of your trip at 7:00 am (PDT). Cancellations will be available immediately (so keep checking back on recreation.gov).
The remaining 40% of Permits during May 27 through October 14 are available on a “Week-Ahead” first-come, first-served basis by reserving trips through recreation.gov at 7:00 am PDT seven days before your start date and no later than three days ahead of your trip (e.g., if your trip start date is Tuesday, then you can submit a request at recreation.gov on the
prior Tuesday at 7:00 am PDT and no later than Friday -- See HOW below).
For 2023, the first on-sale date for the 40% "Week-Ahead" Permits will be April 22, 2022 (for an April 29 start date that includes the 16 "Entry Points" for Yosemite Falls and Hetch Hetchy -- See WHERE below). The other 35 Trailheads become available for "Week-Ahead" Reservations on May 22 for a May 29 start date. Some trailheads are closed for 2022. The last "Week-Ahead" Reservation sale date for all Trailheads will be October 14, 2023 (for an October 22 start date).
From October 22 through April 27, Wilderness Permits are available without reservations or fees at designated self-registration stations or issuing Wilderness Centers (click here for list).
WHERE: Permit restrictions require that you start your backpacking trip at a designated “Entry Point” trailhead and indicate where you plan on camping your first night. In planning, it is important to understand that different destinations within the Park may have the same “Entry Point” (e.g., the “Yosemite Falls” entry point leads to Eagle Point, El Capitan, North Dome and other spots).
Each “Entry Point” into Yosemite’s wilderness has a specific daily quota of Permits that are issued (to see the permit quotas for each trailhead entry point, click here). The “entry point” trailheads are separated into five “Trailhead Regions” based on their location: 1. Yosemite Valley (9 entry points), 2. Tuolumne Meadows and Tioga Road east of Olmstead Point (11 entry points), 3. Tioga Road West of Olmstead Point (13 entry points), 4. Hetch Hetchy (7 entry points), and 5. Wawona and Glacier Point Road (11 entry points – ALERT FOR 2022/2023: Permits for entry points off of Glacier Point Road will not be available for 2022/2023 due to the Glacier Point road closure for major road rehabilitation). For a map of “Entry Point” trailheads click here.
Your first night camp location must be in the Region designated on the Permit. However, you may spend additional nights in other Regions.
RESTRICTIONS: Backpackers must also follow restrictions on where one can and cannot camp. Locations where camping is prohibited includes any area one mile in any direction from a public access road (e.g., Highway 120—Tioga Road), four miles from any developed area (e.g., Yosemite Valley, Glacier Point, Tuolumne Meadows & Hetch Hetchy), the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River drainage, and 1/2 mile from each High Sierra Camp (although you may camp in a designated backpackers’ campground at all five High Sierra Camps: Glen Aulin, May Lake, Sunrise, Merced Lake, and Vogelsang).
Yosemite National Park requests that backpackers camp in a previously impacted campsites at least 100 feet (30 meters/40 paces) from any water source or trail.
Camping is also not allowed in the following areas: Parker Pass Creek Watershed; Gaylor Creek Watershed; Lukens Lake; Budd Creek Watershed; the top of Half Dome (and Lost Lake); within 100 feet of a trail, flowing stream, river, or any body of water unless there is a well-developed camping spot, however, no camping whatsoever can occur within 25 feet of a stream, trail, or body of water.
For an interactive map of restricted camping areas (shaded in red), click here.
EXITING THE PARK THROUGH JOHN MUIR TRAIL OR DONAHUE PASS: If you plan to exit Yosemite via the John Muir Trail and Donahue Pass, you must secure a Wilderness Permit through the lottery or by reservations on recreation.gov prior to your trip. Only two trailhead “Entry Points” qualify: 1. Lyell Canyon Trailhead (Donahue Pass eligible; quota of 30 total permits with 18 for lottery and 12 for reservations) and 2. The Happy Isle past Little Yosemite Valley Trailhead (Donahue Pass eligible; quota of 15 total permits with 9 by lottery and 6 by reservations).
All Park trails exiting out of Yosemite’s north boundary require a permit from the National Forest Service office representing the area in which you plan on backpacking. Forest Service regulations are noted on each Forest Service website.
BACKPACKERS CAMPGROUND: Backpackers with a valid Wilderness Permit may spend the night before and the night after their wilderness trip at a “Backpackers Campground” unless they are closed. The fee is $8 a night and the exact amount must be placed in an envelope indicating your selected campsite. There are four locations: Tuolumne Meadows, White Wolf, Hetch Hetchy, and Yosemite Valley (for a description of each location click here). No parking is available at the Backpackers Campgrounds so a designated “overnight” parking must be found nearby.
HOW & HOW MUCH: Each “Pre-Season” Lottery submission and “Week-Ahead” reservation request costs $10.00 (USD) for travel dates between April 28 and October 14. You will be notified of the lottery results on the following Monday. If awarded a Permit, you have until midnight of that Thursday to accept (about 3 days). If you accept, you will be charged $5.00 for each person in your group.
The Trip Leader or Alternate must pick up the Permit at the Wilderness Center one day in advance (8:00 am to 5:00 pm) or on the same day (8:00 am to 10:00 am) unless indicated on recreation.gov that a late arrival will occur.
There is no charge for permits issued at Wilderness Centers and Permit Stations from October 15 through May 25.
Before beginning the Lottery process, determine where you want to hike in the Yosemite Wilderness by examining “Entry Point” Trailheads (click here). On recreation.gov, you will be asked to identify your start date, your starting trailhead, your first night stay area, where you intend to camp for each night (changes can be made prior to your visit), and the number in your group.