Yosemite Wilderness Permit — Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley

Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley: what makes it different

Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley is the Half Dome base-camp permit. It climbs past Vernal and Nevada Falls, ties your first night to one named campground, and cannot leave the park over Donohue Pass. The Park Service rates demand very high, and the Valley's reservation window opens earlier than the Tioga Road trailheads.^8,6,1,3

Getting to the start

Recreation.gov calls the trail very popular: it climbs past Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall to Little Yosemite Valley, and it is commonly used to continue to Half Dome. The Park Service table lists a flush toilet at the trailhead and names the Yosemite Valley Wilderness Center as the issuing station.^8,1

Hikeology wrote that Curry Village parking was full by 8 a.m. on the first day of a July trip with a heavy snow year behind it. The Outbound guide suggests parking at Upper Pines and noting where you left the car.^10,9

A tahoetowhitney trail account describes heavy day-hiker traffic at the Mist Trail junctions, worst on July weekends, with backpackers and day hikers crossing paths all the way up.¹¹

The first leg

The Park Service lists the Little Yosemite Valley trip at 9.6 miles round trip with 2,150 feet of gain, rated very high demand. It calls the Mist Trail the shortest and steepest way up and the John Muir Trail the longer and gentler one.⁶

The Outbound guide measures about 3.8 miles one way from Happy Isles to the backpacker camp, and the tahoetowhitney account puts the camp about 4 miles from Happy Isles. Hikeology says Vernal Fall to Nevada Fall is about 2 miles.^9,11,10

Terrain and difficulty

The Park Service describes steep granite cliffs beside the two falls. The tahoetowhitney writer warns that the rocks near Nevada Falls are slippery and dangerous and says the last treated water on the way is at the Merced River bridge.^6,11

Backpackers Review says the 2014 Meadow Fire burned Little Yosemite Valley and left sandy footing that tires the legs. A small unburned patch near the river is the place the writer took water and snacks.¹²

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley, overnight wilderness, lottery share: 15 people a day. This is the lottery share, drawn 24 weeks ahead, from the Park Service trailhead table.¹
• 2026 daily quota at Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley, overnight wilderness, week-ahead share: 10 people a day. This share opens a week before the trip. The table prints no combined total, and Recreation.gov availability for this permit would not load.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

The Park Service names this trailhead as one with a required first night. Camping in this part of the Valley's backcountry is limited to the Little Yosemite Valley campground, and fires are allowed only in the communal rings there.^3,1

This permit is not eligible to exit Yosemite over Donohue Pass on the John Muir Trail. The Donohue exits belong to the sibling Happy Isles trailhead past Little Yosemite Valley.^1,2

Half Dome can be added at pickup for $10 a person for backpackers on this trailhead.²

Where it leads

Half Dome is the reason most people pick this permit. The Outbound guide puts the summit about 3 miles from camp and says the cable section uses two cables, with gloves left at the base. Hikeology gives 3 miles and over 2,000 feet from camp to Sub Dome, then about half a mile of slick granite and roughly 400 feet of cables.^9,10

Backpackers Review lists a loop that comes back through Little Yosemite Valley and Lost Valley to Happy Isles, with views of Half Dome and the Cascade Cliffs from the burned flat.¹²

What trip reports say

The Outbound guide describes 30 to 40 first-come sites among trees beside Sunrise Creek, two fire rings, a compost toilet and shared bear lockers. It says there is no drinking water in camp and the Merced must be treated. A reviewer calls it the park's most popular backpacking trip.⁹

Hikeology camped there in July and found it a relief after earlier nights: pit toilets, and views of Liberty Cap and Half Dome. Mosquitoes were a serious problem, so the writer recommends a bug net. The group left camp at 2 a.m., reached the cables around 7 a.m. and returned to the Valley around 5 p.m.¹⁰

The tahoetowhitney account says the backpacker camp sits near a solar composting toilet, is just off the trail near a Merced River beach, and is usually full. Fire restrictions come in drought years.¹¹

When to go from here

The 2026 window for Yosemite Valley and Hetch Hetchy runs April 24 to October 18. That conflicts with the general text: the wilderness permits page, updated December 31, 2025, says late April through October, while the reservations page, updated June 22, 2026, says May through October. For this trailhead the table's April 24 date is the specific one.^1,4,5

Backpackers Review, on a July 4 weekend in 2019, says peak season is mid-July to early September, snow can linger near 9,000 feet into early summer, and mosquitoes can be heavy at Sunrise and in meadows. Hikeology went in the first week of July after a heavy snow year and rerouted on day three around swollen creeks.^12,10

Compare with nearby entry points

• Happy Isles to Past LYV (Donohue Pass eligible): Happy Isles to Past LYV (Donohue Pass eligible) holds 9 plus 6 and cannot spend the first night in Little Yosemite Valley. This permit holds 15 plus 10 and must.^1,7
• Cathedral Lakes: Cathedral Lakes also holds 15 plus 10 and takes a Half Dome add-on, but it has no toilet, no required first-night camp and an issuing station in Tuolumne.^1,2

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. Wilderness Permits, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Wilderness Permit Reservations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Yosemite Valley Trails, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
7. John Muir and Pacific Crest Trails, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Yosemite National Park Wilderness Permits, Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Little Yosemite Valley Campsite and Half Dome, The Outbound. Read 2026-10-15.
10. 3 Days in the Yosemite Backcountry and Summiting Half Dome, Hikeology. Read 2026-10-15.
11. Yosemite Valley to Little Yosemite Valley, Muir Trail, Tahoe to Whitney. Read 2026-10-15.
12. Yosemite Highlights Loop, Backpackers Review. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Happy Isles to Little Yosemite Valley permit