Yosemite Wilderness Permit — Cottonwood Creek (Hetch Hetchy)

Cottonwood Creek (Hetch Hetchy): what makes it different

Cottonwood Creek is the Hetch Hetchy start just inside the entrance station, on the Cottonwood Meadow Trail. NPS sells 12 lottery and 8 week-ahead places a day, with no toilet and no food lockers at the trailhead.^1,8

Getting to the start

Recreation.gov puts the trailhead just inside the Hetch Hetchy entrance station and tells hikers to keep right at the first trail junction to stay on the Cottonwood Meadow Trail. The permit is issued at the Hetch Hetchy Entrance.^8,1

NPS lists no toilet at this trailhead and adds the note that there are no food lockers. A bear canister is therefore the only food storage you have from the car to the trail.^1,4

Two trip reports describe starting at the Mather Ranger Station near the Hetch Hetchy entrance and passing Cottonwood Meadow and Smith Meadow, which is the same ground the Recreation.gov text points to. Neither report names this permit division, so treat the match as likely rather than confirmed.^9,10,8

The first leg

A June 2005 overnighter walked from the ranger station through what the writers called very burnt out territory, then into Cottonwood Meadow and on to Smith Meadow. They said the early meadows were wet with ankle-deep mud and so overgrown in places that the trail vanished.⁹

A 2003 Stanford group also started at the Mather Ranger Station and said most of the nearly 8 miles to the summit crossed recently burned forest.¹¹

Terrain and difficulty

NPS lists Smith Peak at 13.4 miles with 3,500 feet of gain and Low permit demand on its Hetch Hetchy trail table, and the day-hike page gives two routes: 13 miles round trip with 3,700 feet from a signed start 6 miles past the entrance, and 16 miles round trip with 3,300 feet from the entrance station. The summit is 7,751 feet.^2,3

Trip reports put the trail to the summit at about 8 miles with more than 3,000 feet of gain from the ranger station (2005) and nearly 8 miles with about 3,300 feet (2003). The 2005 group came back by a different trail a couple of miles longer, for an 18-mile loop.^9,11

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Cottonwood Creek (Hetch Hetchy), overnight wilderness, lottery share: 12 people a day. NPS trailhead page, updated May 11, 2026. Hetch Hetchy Entrance window: April 24 to October 18, 2026; other times first come, first served.¹
• 2026 daily quota at Cottonwood Creek (Hetch Hetchy), overnight wilderness, week-ahead share: 8 people a day. The first come, first served share released seven days ahead. NPS prints it as a separate column.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

Approved bear canisters are required, hanging food is not legal, bear spray is not allowed, and camps must be 100 feet from water and trail. Campfires are only allowed in existing rings below 9,600 feet.⁴

NPS warns of rattlesnakes and poison oak around Hetch Hetchy and asks hikers to carry plenty of water, a map and sunscreen.³

A permit is for one start date, with an exit up to 14 days later. Arrive after 11 am and the reservation is canceled unless you held it for late arrival.⁵

Where it leads

Cottonwood Meadow, Smith Meadow and Smith Peak are the places the reports name. The 2005 writers called the summit one of their best campsites for comfort and views, with rocks that blocked a breeze, and said there was no water at the top, so it has to be carried up.⁹

The 2011 group went for Lookout Point first and saw Hetch Hetchy, Tueeulala Falls and Wapama Falls. They skipped the summit camp because they heard several groups were already there and camped near Smith Meadow.¹⁰

What trip reports say

A June 2005 trip: a ranger said about 60 people were heading to Rancheria Falls and nobody toward Smith Peak. The two writers saw no one all day, found bear tracks but no bears, crossed a knee-deep icy stream and a second crossing over 4 feet deep at a slippery log, and said the trail had not been maintained that season, with fresh deadfall.⁹

A July 2011 Backpacking Light post calls the trail lightly used and overgrown in places. One stream near the south end of Smith Meadow was knee-deep but slow, only one small snow patch was left at the summit, and wildlife was one deer and a small mouse.¹⁰

A May 2003 Memorial Day trip found a consolidated snowfield on the north slopes, which the group used as a water source for cooking, and a windless, warm summit night. They reached the top about 7 pm.¹¹

When to go from here

The Hetch Hetchy window on the trailhead page runs April 24 to October 18, 2026. The reports cover late May (snow on north slopes), mid June (wet meadows, icy knee-deep creeks) and early July (one snow patch, slow knee-deep crossing), so snow and creek crossings matter most in spring.^1,11,9,10

NPS pages disagree on when reservations start. The Wilderness Permits page (updated December 31, 2025) says late April through October. The Wilderness Permit Reservations page (updated June 22, 2026) says May through October. The trailhead page gives April 24 for the Hetch Hetchy Entrance.^6,7,1

Compare with nearby entry points

• Beehive Meadows (Hetch Hetchy): Beehive Meadows has nearly double the room, 21 lottery and 14 week-ahead people against 12 and 8 here, and a flush toilet. It heads to Laurel Lake and Lake Vernon, where NPS rates demand Low.^1,2
• Base Line Camp Road (Hetch Hetchy): Base Line Camp Road is a different access from the park boundary off Evergreen Road, with 15 lottery and 10 week-ahead people and the same no toilet and no food lockers.^1,8
• Smith Peak (Hetch Hetchy): Smith Peak has its own Hetch Hetchy trail row at 13.4 miles and 3,500 feet, rated Low demand, and its own start. NPS does not say how its row and the Cottonwood Creek division divide the Smith Meadow country, so read both trailhead notes before you pick one.²

Sources

1. Trailhead Information, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Hetch Hetchy Area Trails, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service (updated November 13, 2019). Read 2026-10-15.
3. Day Hikes in Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service (updated August 22, 2023). Read 2026-10-15.
4. Wilderness Regulations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Wilderness Permit Frequently Asked Questions, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Wilderness Permits, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Wilderness Permit Reservations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Yosemite National Park Wilderness Permits (Cottonwood Creek and Base Line Camp Road divisions), Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Smith Peak overnight in Yosemite (south Hetch Hetchy region), Calipidder (trip of June 11 to 12, 2005). Read 2026-10-15.
10. Smith Peak, Yosemite (trip report thread, July 2011), Backpacking Light forums. Read 2026-10-15.
11. Smith Peak (trip of May 24 to 25, 2003), Stanford SEP, Morgan Brown photo pages. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Cottonwood Creek (Hetch Hetchy) permit