Yosemite Wilderness Permit — Lukens Lake to Yosemite Creek

Lukens Lake to Yosemite Creek: what makes it different

Lukens Lake to Yosemite Creek is the quiet south branch from the Lukens trailhead on Tioga Road. It follows a side stream down to Yosemite Creek and on toward Eagle Peak and the Valley rim. It holds just 6 lottery spots and 4 week-ahead spots a day, with no toilet at the start, and camping is banned at the lake itself.^1,9,2,8

Getting to the start

Recreation.gov says the Lukens Lake parking lot is west of Yosemite Creek along Tioga Road. American Southwest places the southern trailhead about 2 miles east of the White Wolf turnoff, with a large parking pullout, and notes that a lesser-used path leaves the same trailhead south toward Yosemite Creek.^7,9

NorCal Hiker, writing in July 2018, found a large turnout at the Lukens trailhead about 24 miles from Big Oak Flat, with bear boxes and no bathrooms. The 2026 table agrees there is no toilet, and names the Big Oak Flat Information Station as the issuing station.^8,1

Tioga Road closes in winter, so the trailhead is only reachable while the road is open, and overnight parking along it ends October 15. Recreation.gov says a permit is void without a refund if the road is closed on your day.^3,7

The first leg

Recreation.gov describes the trail as descending through forest to the slick granite of the Yosemite Creek watershed. American Southwest lists the lake at 8,230 feet, about 0.9 miles from the highway, with two further junctions on that side leading to Ten Lakes and the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne.^7,9

On the south branch NorCal Hiker reached a trail junction at about 3 miles, lunched a mile or two later, then walked the creek with swims to the Eagle Peak junction. The whole trip to Eagle Peak and back was 19 miles with about 2,700 feet of gain, with one night out.⁸

Terrain and difficulty

The same hiker found the trail dusty and hot on the first day, with long uphill sections on the way back. The route mostly follows Yosemite Creek and does not describe a ford.⁸

Hiking Project describes the trail from Yosemite Creek Campground as 5.5 miles point to point, dropping from about 7,321 to 6,803 feet, with polished granite slabs and pools and a gravel bar where people often camp. Snow can sit in this drainage until late June.¹³

A reader should not mix up the two starts. A 2012 walker who began at the Yosemite Creek trailhead crossed a bridge in the campground about 2 miles in, met several crossings and a large deadfall past the small canyon, and found swimming holes and granite slabs.¹²

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Lukens Lake to Yosemite Creek, overnight wilderness, lottery share: 6 people a day. This is the lottery share, drawn 24 weeks ahead, from the Park Service trailhead table.¹
• 2026 daily quota at Lukens Lake to Yosemite Creek, overnight wilderness, week-ahead share: 4 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 lists Lukens Lake among the places where camping is prohibited, so plan camps along the creek or elsewhere on the route.²

General wilderness rules apply along the creek: camps 100 feet from water and trails, fires only in existing rings below 9,600 feet, and a bear canister. The written rules print no minimum distance for this trailhead, so ask at the Big Oak Flat station.²

The Park Service says trails here have unbridged stream crossings that can be high, cold and fast early in the season, and that pets and bicycles are not allowed on hiking trails.³

Where it leads

Eagle Peak and the Yosemite Falls rim are the usual goals. NorCal Hiker camped on a flat saddle past the Eagle Peak junction with a view of Half Dome, then climbed Eagle Peak for the Valley view.⁸

Hiking Project says the creek trail reaches the Eagle Peak Trail and then runs about 0.75 mile further to the brink of Upper Yosemite Falls, which is worth the side trip when the falls are running well.¹³

What trip reports say

NorCal Hiker, posted July 8, 2018: the last reliable water was before the Eagle Peak junction, so the group filled up there and dry-camped on the saddle. Water in the swimming holes was warmer on day one and noticeably colder on day two. Getting through to the permit office by phone took about 50 tries.⁸

Sierra News Online, June 20, 2022, walked the nearby Lukens Lake and White Wolf trail through the 2021 Lukens Fire burn: many standing dead trees, some fallen across the path, several small creek crossings and mosquitoes that were manageable with repellent and long pants.¹⁰

On Yosemite Hikes, a 2015 reviewer found the lake bottom muddy and littered with branches and suggests water shoes, while a September 2021 reviewer left food in the bear box at the trailhead before the walk.¹¹

When to go from here

The 2026 window for Tioga Road trailheads runs June 18 to October 14. The wilderness permits page, updated December 31, 2025, says reservations run late April through October, and the reservations page, updated June 22, 2026, says May through October. The trailhead table's dates are the specific ones.^1,5,6

Snow can linger in the Yosemite Creek drainage until late June, and a walker on June 25, 2012 still met a large deadfall across the trail.^13,12

Compare with nearby entry points

• White Wolf to Smith Meadow: White Wolf to Smith Meadow also issues from Big Oak Flat, but holds 15 plus 10 and has a flush toilet in the campground when it is open. Lukens Lake to Yosemite Creek holds 6 plus 4 and has none.¹
• Ten Lakes: The Ten Lakes trailhead sits across Tioga Road from the Yosemite Creek trailhead, on the north side. The Park Service lists the Ten Lakes trip at 11.8 miles round trip with 1,500 feet of gain, and the Lukens south branch heads the other way.^3,4

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. Yosemite Creek and Ten Lakes Trailhead, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Tioga Road (West of Olmsted Point) Backpacking Trails, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Wilderness Permits, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Wilderness Permit Reservations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Yosemite National Park Wilderness Permits, Lukens Lake to Yosemite Creek division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Backpacking Yosemite's Eagle Peak, NorCal Hiker. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Lukens Lake Trail, Yosemite National Park, American Southwest. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Hiking From Tioga Road to Lukens Lake and White Wolf, Sierra News Online. Read 2026-10-15.
11. Lukens Lake Trail Reviews, Yosemite Hikes. Read 2026-10-15.
12. Yosemite Creek Traverse, June 25, 2012, Ted's Hiking World. Read 2026-10-15.
13. Yosemite Creek Trail, Hiking Project. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Lukens Lake to Yosemite Creek permit