Yosemite Wilderness Permit — Glacier Point to Illilouette

Glacier Point to Illilouette: what makes it different

Glacier Point to Illilouette is the rim start for the quiet south side of the park: the Panorama Trail down to Illilouette Creek, then on toward the Buena Vista trail junction before you camp. It has the largest quota of the Glacier Point trailheads, 30 people a day in 2026, and it carries no Half Dome add-on.^1,4

Getting to the start

The Park Service files it under Wawona and Glacier Point Road, with permits issued at the Wawona Visitor Center. The trailhead has a vault toilet, and drinking water is available there in summer.¹

A 2012 hiker on Ted's Outdoor World found the trailhead about a quarter mile south of the Glacier Point crowds, just past the overlook. He took the paid tour bus up from Yosemite Lodge, which was full that morning, and a 2017 reviewer on YosemiteHikes took a one-way bus at 8:30 am from the lodge.^5,6

Glacier Point Road has no vehicle access when closed, usually from sometime in November to late May or June, and overnight parking on it ends October 15. Recreation.gov says the road typically opens in mid-May. The 2026 reservation window runs May 16 to October 14.^1,4

The first leg

An Outbound listing says the trail drops 2 miles from about 7,200 feet at Glacier Point to Illilouette Falls at 5,800 feet. Ted measured the whole walk to the Valley at 8 miles from 7,150 to 4,000 feet. The Park Service puts Glacier Point to Yosemite Valley at 11.5 miles to the Valley.^7,5,3

A reader on YosemiteHikes describes the first hour and a half as a gradual descent to the falls. Ted calls the next stretch to the head of Illilouette Gorge uninteresting going before a footbridge at the head of the gorge, and says no safe spot shows the whole 370 foot fall.^6,5

Terrain and difficulty

Past the bridge the trail climbs. One reviewer says it took about 1.5 hours from the creek to the top of the ascent, and Ted found remnants of old asphalt on that stretch, which was once a paved route.^6,5

The basin you camp in burned in 2004. A 2007 Climber.org party walking through it from Mono Meadows found open meadows of wildflowers where the forest burned, with bears and cubs in view.⁹

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Glacier Point to Illilouette, overnight wilderness: 30 people a day. 18 through the lottery 24 weeks ahead and 12 first come, first served one week ahead, per the NPS table. Recreation.gov availability for this permit would not load.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

Recreation.gov says you must travel as far as the Buena Vista Trail junction before camping. You may not camp in Little Yosemite Valley on the first night with this permit.⁴

Camping is not allowed along the Panorama Trail or at the top of Illilouette Fall. The Park Service explains why the Panorama Trail has no trailhead of its own: you can hike it and camp somewhere beyond.^4,1

Half Dome is not available with this trailhead, so a Half Dome day hike needs its own day-use permit. The John Muir Trail Donohue exit is also not available.^4,2

Where it leads

The Illilouette Creek basin and the south end of the park. Recreation.gov says the route heads southeast to destinations in the south end of the park and beyond. A 2005 Sierra Club party used the Buena Vista Creek trail to reach Grayling Lake, and a 2007 party went on to Upper Ottoway Lake.^4,8,9

Panorama Point, a short unmarked side trail left half a mile past the bridge, if you walk up toward Nevada Fall instead.⁶

What trip reports say

Ted's 2012 walk is the best description of the early miles. He enjoyed the almost entirely downhill trek, with Vernal Fall seen from 2,000 feet above, and counted 10 hikers to the John Muir Trail and about 200 after it.⁵

The 2005 party crossing Illilouette Creek found it thigh deep and cold after a big snow winter. The creek is the main hazard in early season.⁸

The hikeology group of 2023 camped by Illilouette Creek, reached from Mono Meadows, and the next day walked up to the falls bridge and the Panorama Point switchbacks.^6,5,10

When to go from here

Wait for the road and the creek. The road opens typically in mid-May according to Recreation.gov, and the 2023 hikeology group found swollen impassable creeks in the first week of July in a heavy snow year.^4,10

Compare with nearby entry points

• Happy Isles to Illilouette: Happy Isles to Illilouette reaches the same basin from the Valley floor with a quota of only 3 plus 2, a long climb past Nevada Fall, and a Yosemite Valley wilderness center permit.^1,4
• Glacier Point to Little Yosemite Valley: The Little Yosemite Valley version from the same point holds 6 plus 4, fixes the first night at the campground and is Half Dome eligible.¹
• Mono Meadow: Mono Meadow, also on Glacier Point Road, starts the Mono Meadows trail into the same drainage, as the Climber.org reports show. Its quota is 12 plus 8 and it is Half Dome eligible.^1,9

Sources

1. Trailhead Information, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Wilderness Permits Frequently Asked Questions, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Yosemite Valley Trails, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Yosemite National Park Wilderness Permits, Glacier Point to Illilouette division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Panorama Trail, Yosemite NP, Ted's Outdoor World. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Panorama Trail Hiker Reviews, YosemiteHikes.com. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Backpack to Clouds Rest from Glacier Point, The Outbound Collective. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Crossing Creeks and Country for Clark and Gray, Climber.Org. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Easy and Light, Red, Gray, and Merced, Climber.Org. Read 2026-10-15.
10. 3 Days in the Yosemite Backcountry + Summiting Half Dome, hikeology. Read 2026-10-15.
11. Wilderness Permits, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
12. Wilderness Permit Reservations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
13. Wilderness Regulations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Glacier Point to Illilouette permit