Yosemite Wilderness Permit — Happy Isles to Illilouette

Happy Isles to Illilouette (no Donohue Pass): what makes it different

Happy Isles to Illilouette is the smallest of the three Happy Isles trailheads: five people a day, for hikers who want their first night in the Illilouette Creek basin instead of crowded Little Yosemite Valley. You climb the Mist or John Muir Trail past Nevada Fall, then cross to the basin. There is no Half Dome add-on and no Donohue exit.^1,5,2

Getting to the start

The permit is issued at the Yosemite Valley Wilderness Center. Trailhead parking is just past Curry Village, about a half mile from Happy Isles, and the free Valley shuttle takes you to the trail. The Park Service says parking is not available at Happy Isles or Mirror Lake. The trailhead has a flush toilet.¹

The Valley reservation window for 2026 runs April 24 to October 18, wider than the Tuolumne and Glacier Point Road trailheads.¹

The first leg

Recreation.gov describes the route as the John Muir or Mist Trail to the top of Nevada Fall, then a traverse of the Panorama Cliff toward Illilouette Creek. The Park Service lists the climb to Little Yosemite Valley as 9.6 miles round trip with about 2,150 feet of gain, with the Mist Trail the shortest, steepest way and the JMT longer and lower angle.^5,4

No published page gave a distance from Happy Isles to the first legal camp in the basin, so this profile leaves one out. Ask at the Valley wilderness center when you pick up the permit.⁵

Terrain and difficulty

The Park Service rates Little Yosemite Valley at very high permit demand and Glacier Point to Yosemite Valley, the route that camps in the Illilouette basin, at high demand.⁴

A 2005 Sierra Club party crossing the creek on the Buena Vista Creek trail found the Illilouette flowing high, fast and cold in a big snow year, with a thigh-deep crossing and a dunking for one hiker. A 2023 guided group had to reroute around swollen, impassable creeks in the same area in early July.^7,6

The drainage burned in a large 2004 fire. A 2007 party describes burned forests that came back as open meadows of wildflowers, with bear and cubs seen.⁸

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Happy Isles to Illilouette (no Donohue Pass), overnight wilderness: 5 people a day. 3 through the lottery 24 weeks ahead and 2 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

You may not camp at Little Yosemite Valley on your first night. You must reach the Illilouette basin before legal camping begins.⁵

Camping is not allowed along the Panorama Trail or at the top of Illilouette Fall, and Recreation.gov adds the Illilouette bridge to that list. The Park Service trailhead FAQ gives the same split: to camp in the basin or beyond, use this trailhead or Glacier Point to Illilouette.^5,1

In the area between Happy Isles and Glacier Point, camping near Little Yosemite Valley is restricted to the Little Yosemite Valley campground.^3,1

Hiking over Donohue Pass and the full John Muir Trail is not available from this trailhead, and Half Dome is not included. A Half Dome day hike would need its own separate permit.^5,2

Where it leads

The Illilouette Creek basin itself, then routes beyond it. The Park Service names the Glacier Point to Yosemite Valley route as one that can camp in the basin, and the long Mono Meadows routes to Ottoway Lake and the Clark Range start in the same drainage.^4,8

A 2007 Climber.org party walked 15.7 miles from Mono Meadows to Upper Ottoway Lake in a day, passing through the basin on the way, and had the lake to themselves.⁸

What trip reports say

No report I read started at Happy Isles with this exact permit, so these describe the Illilouette basin from other directions. The 2023 hikeology group camped at a quiet spot by Illilouette Creek 3.5 miles from Mono Meadows, then walked up to the Illilouette Falls bridge and climbed steep switchbacks to Panorama Point.⁶

That group stopped at the top of Nevada Fall for lunch and had another 1.5 miles to Little Yosemite Valley. They found the camp full of mosquitoes but with pit toilets.⁶

A 2005 report of the creek crossing: the group went a further three miles up the Buena Vista Creek trail until the creek looked tame near a bend, and crossed with ski poles and separate shoes.⁷

When to go from here

Creek flow sets the dates. The 2005 and 2023 groups both met high water in early to mid season. Neither report gives a safe date, so ask the wilderness center about the creek before you start.^7,6

Compare with nearby entry points

• Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley: Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley holds 15 lottery plus 10 week-ahead people and requires the first night at the campground there, and is Half Dome eligible. This trailhead forbids that camp.¹
• Happy Isles to Past LYV (Donohue Pass eligible): Happy Isles past Little Yosemite Valley is for hikers who walk through the camp area and keep going to Merced Lake or Sunrise High Sierra Camp, and it is one of two trailheads that allows the Donohue exit.^1,2
• Glacier Point to Illilouette: Glacier Point to Illilouette reaches the same basin from the rim with a quota of 18 plus 12, and Recreation.gov asks you to go as far as the Buena Vista Trail junction.^1,5

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. Wilderness Regulations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Yosemite Valley Trails, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Yosemite National Park Wilderness Permits, Happy Isles to Illilouette division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
6. 3 Days in the Yosemite Backcountry + Summiting Half Dome, hikeology. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Crossing Creeks and Country for Clark and Gray, Climber.Org. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Easy and Light, Red, Gray, and Merced, Climber.Org. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Wilderness Permits, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Wilderness Permit Reservations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Happy Isles to Illilouette permit