Yosemite Wilderness Permit — Alder Creek

Alder Creek: what makes it different

Alder Creek is the quiet Wawona trailhead for a lightly used climb onto the ridges above the South Fork of the Merced River. A seasonal waterfall sits about a mile up the old logging grade, and the Park Service gives this trailhead a larger quota than most of the western side.^5,1

Getting to the start

Recreation.gov says Alder Creek can be reached from two points. The southern trailhead is on Chilnualna Falls Road near Wawona and the northern one is off Highway 41. Permits come through the Wawona Visitor Center, and the trailhead has no toilet.^5,1

A 2016 report on Sierra News Online turned right from Wawona onto Chilnualna Falls Road and drove about half a mile to a small turnout on the right with a bear box. The signed trail starts across the road. Hiking Project places the start uphill from the Wawona horse stables.^6,7

The American Southwest guide describes a start 0.4 miles up the side road to North Wawona, and says a connector leaving the main road just south of the Alder Creek bridge cuts 1.5 miles from the hike.⁸

The first leg

Hiking Project measures the whole trail at 8.7 miles point to point with 2,468 feet of ascent, from 4,052 to 6,392 feet, average grade 6 percent and a 26 percent maximum. The American Southwest guide says 6 miles and about 2,400 feet, and the 2016 Sierra News Online hike logged 13.36 miles round trip. The three sources count different ends, so treat all of them as rough.^7,8,6

Hiking Project says the trail starts gently, then steepens through oak and manzanita, climbs Turner Ridge and enters shady forest near the headwaters of Mosquito Creek. It follows a logging railroad grade from the 1920s to the 1940s, where ties, rails and debris remain, and Alder Falls comes into view about a mile along that grade.⁷

Past the falls the trail follows Alder Creek, crosses to the west bank near mile 5.5, reaches a junction with the Deer Camp Road Bypass and ends with a steep climb to Hennes Ridge Drive. The 2016 Sierra News Online hike found a split just short of 3 miles where the Highway 41 trail joins.^7,6

Terrain and difficulty

Open pine and manzanita woodland at first, then mixed conifer forest on ridge tops. The American Southwest guide says the first half has distant views over wooded hills and the second half is more enclosed. Recreation.gov calls it an infrequently used trail.^8,5

Hiking Project lists bear clover, lupine, snow plant, dogwood and cedar along the route and warns that bears live here. The 2016 hiker saw snow plant and dogwood in late May and warns that corn lily is poisonous.^7,6

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Alder Creek, overnight wilderness: 30 people a day. 18 go through the lottery 24 weeks ahead and 12 are released first come, first served one week ahead, as the Park Service table prints them. Recreation.gov availability for this permit would not load.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

You must travel at least one air mile from any road and at least four trail miles from Wawona before camping. The Park Service wilderness rules set the same four mile and one mile limits for Wawona.^5,2

Recreation.gov says Half Dome is not available with this trailhead, so a Half Dome day hike needs a separate permit. Fires are banned above 9,600 feet and allowed only in existing rings below that, and a bear canister is required throughout the wilderness.^5,2

Where it leads

Alder Creek Falls. The 2016 hiker put the drop at about 120 feet into a pool. Hiking Project warns that the falls are much less impressive in drought or late summer and that going off trail to the base is not recommended.^6,7

Recreation.gov lists Alder Creek, Chilnualna Falls, Chilnualna Lakes and Grouse Lake among the camp areas tied to this division. The American Southwest guide says one connector heads east through Empire Meadow to the Bridalveil Creek Trail, which leads eventually to Chilnualna Falls.^5,8

Yosemite Conservancy ran a three day guided women's backpack here in July 2023, with a base camp near Alder Fall reached from this trailhead, 4 to 5 miles a day and two shared tent sites that each fit six people.⁹

What trip reports say

Candace Gregory's May 2016 post on Sierra News Online covers a day hike to the falls. A Civilian Conservation Corps crew from near Auburn had been clearing downed trees, so the trail was easier than in earlier years. She saw sparse harlequin lupine, larkspur, paintbrush, snow plant, dogwood and monkey flower, and rated the hike moderate.⁶

The post puts the falls at about 120 feet and calls them very pretty. It does not describe a crowd, which fits Recreation.gov's description of an infrequently used trail and Hiking Project's note that the trail is uncrowded.^6,5,7

The only first-hand report read for this page is that 2016 day hike. Hiking Project shows no check-ins, so current trail condition has to come from the Wawona wilderness desk at pickup.^6,7

When to go from here

Hiking Project gives mid-May through October as the season and calls the trail a good early option because of its low elevation. The Park Service table gives the Wawona window for 2026 as May 16 to October 14. The falls run best in spring; the Hiking Project note on drought and late summer applies in a dry year.^7,1

The Park Service pages disagree on when reservations start. The wilderness permits page, updated December 31, 2025, says reservations run from late April through October. The reservations page, updated June 22, 2026, says May through October. The Wawona window in the trailhead table starts May 16.^3,4,1

Compare with nearby entry points

• Chilnualna Falls: Chilnualna Falls has the largest quota on the Wawona side, 24 by lottery plus 16 week ahead, and a vault toilet. Alder Creek has 18 plus 12 and no toilet.¹
• Deer Camp: Deer Camp joins the Alder Creek trail at the Deer Camp Road Bypass junction. Its quota is 15 plus 10 and it has no toilet.^7,1
• Westfall Meadow: Westfall Meadow has a quota of only 9 plus 6 and uses the McGurk Meadow food lockers. The American Southwest guide says the Alder Creek trail ends at the far end of the Westfall Meadows trail.^1,8

Sources

1. Trailhead Information, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Wilderness Regulations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Wilderness Permits, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Wilderness Permit Reservations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Yosemite National Park Wilderness Permits, Alder Creek division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Hiking up to Alder Creek Falls, Sierra News Online. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Alder Creek Trail, Hiking Project. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Mariposa and Wawona hiking, Yosemite, The American Southwest. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Women's Backpack: Alder Creek, Yosemite Conservancy. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to an Alder Creek permit