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Wilderness permit for overnight camping starting from the Happy Isles to Little ...
Yosemite Wilderness Permit — Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible)
Yosemite National Park · California
Each entry point carries its own quota
Wilderness permit for overnight camping starting from the Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible) trailhead in Yosemite National Park.
70% of the openings our scanner caught on Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible) were gone within 10 minutes.
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Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible) Quick Facts
Permit RequiredYes
Booking MethodReservation
Demand LevelExtremely High9/10
SeasonJune 18 - October 14
Cost$10 per application + $5 per person if awarded
Daily Quota30 people
Lottery Odds30 people/day, no published rate
Max Group Size15 people
Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible) Permit Facts
- As of September 2026, Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible) in Yosemite National Park, California requires a permit issued via reservation.
- Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible) is one of the most competitive permits in the United States, rating 9/10 on PermitSnag's demand index.
- The permit season for Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible) runs June 18 through October 14.
- Cancelled Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible) permits are re-released on the booking system; PermitSnag monitors availability and alerts watchers when dates open.
Key Information
Key Dates
Lottery OpensWeekly lottery, 24 weeks before entry
SeasonJune 18 - October 14
Permit Details
TypeOvernight
Booking MethodReservation
Demand Level9/10
LocationSierra Nevada, CA
Pro Tips
- •Apply here first if the goal is the JMT — 30 permits a day against Happy Isles' 15 is the single biggest odds difference in the park
- •Set an alarm for 7 am Pacific seven days out; that is when 12 of the 30 daily spots drop
- •Plan the first camp four trail miles up the canyon — anything closer to Tuolumne Meadows is illegal
- •Walk through the mud, not around it; early summer trail damage in the meadow is the reason NPS asks
- •Mail resupply to Tuolumne Meadows General Delivery, open roughly mid-June to mid-September, marked "hold for hiker until [date]"
- •Check Tioga Road before booking flights — a closed road voids the permit with no refund
What to Expect
Route Details
Route Type
Out & Back
Duration
2-3 days, or the start of a 2-3 week John Muir Trail hike
Difficulty
ModerateElevation Range
8,644 - 11,056 ft
Highlights
- •A near-flat start: 3 miles round trip to Twin Bridges, 11.4 miles round trip for the canyon, 300 feet of gain
- •Open grassland along the Tuolumne River with the Kuna Crest and Mount Lyell in view
- •Shared John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail traffic the whole way
- •Donohue Pass at 11,056 feet as the exit point, several days south of the trailhead for most parties
- •Flush toilets at the trailhead and parking at the wilderness center or Dog Lake
- •A four-trail-mile camping setback from Tuolumne Meadows, so the first legal camp is well up the canyon
Best Time to Visit
The Tuolumne Meadows reservation season runs June 18 through October 14 in 2026, bounded by Tioga Road, which usually opens late May or early June and closes with the first significant snow. Early summer means mud, mosquitoes and snow on Donohue; late August and September give firm trail, no bugs and cold nights. Overnight parking on Tioga Road ends October 15.
Hazards & Considerations
- !Afternoon thunderstorms in open meadow with no cover, most common June through September
- !Snow on Donohue Pass into early summer
- !Hazardous stream crossings early in the season, including the Lyell Fork of the Merced further south
- !Mud in early summer — NPS asks hikers to walk through puddles rather than around them to protect the meadow
- !Bears along the whole JMT corridor
- !Tioga Road closure: if the road is shut your permit is not valid and there is no refund
Weather Forecast
Trailhead (5,000 ft)
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View full NWS forecast →Mountain weather changes rapidly. This forecast is a guide—always be prepared for worse conditions.
How to Get This Permit
1
Create a Recreation.gov account
Sign up at Recreation.gov if you don't have an account. Have your payment info ready.
2
Know the release schedule
Permits typically release on a rolling basis. Check the specific release time for your desired dates.
3
Be ready when permits drop
Log in a few minutes early. Have your dates, group size, and payment ready to go.
4
Monitor for cancellations
If your dates are sold out, people cancel all the time. Set up PermitSnag alerts to catch openings instantly.
When to Go
Peak: July-AugustShoulder: Late June and September
Conditions
Tioga Road is usually still closed and the canyon is under snow. Outside the June 18 start of the reservation season permits are free and unreserved, but the trailhead is unreachable by car.
Crowd Level
LowAdvantages
- +No reservation or fee outside the reservation season
- +Solitude if you can reach the trailhead
Challenges
- !Tioga Road closed
- !Snow on Donohue Pass and through the canyon
- !Quotas still apply and a permit is still required
Difficulty Assessment
Physical Demand3/5
Fitness and endurance required
Technical Skill1/5
Climbing, scrambling, or specialized skills
Exposure Risk1/5
Steep dropoffs and fall potential
Navigation1/5
Route finding and trail clarity
Commitment4/5
Difficulty of bailing out mid-route
Best For
John Muir Trail hikers who want the biggest Donohue Pass quota in the park, and anyone who wants a high-country trip that starts at 8,600 feet instead of climbing to it.
Recommended Experience
Standard backpacking for the canyon itself. Continuing south over Donohue turns it into a multi-week trip with resupply and continuous-travel permit rules.
Not Recommended For
Hikers set on the classic Happy Isles start with Vernal and Nevada Falls, and anyone who wants dramatic scenery in the first few miles — this is meadow walking.
About This Permit
Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible) is the Tuolumne Meadows wilderness permit that lets you walk south out of Yosemite on the John Muir Trail. NPS caps Donohue exits at 45 hikers per day and allocates 30 of them here — twice the Happy Isles to Past LYV share.
The daily quota of 30 splits the usual way: 18 through the weekly lottery 24 weeks out, 12 released seven days in advance at 7 am Pacific. No permits are set aside for walk-ups.
The trail itself is the gentlest entry to the high country in the park — 11.4 miles round trip with 300 feet of gain up the canyon, on ground the John Muir and Pacific Crest Trails share. NPS rates permit demand "Very High" anyway, because everyone hiking the JMT southbound wants one of these 30 spots.
The Experience
Why It Matters
Yosemite limits hikers exiting the park over Donohue Pass to 45 per day. Lyell Canyon holds 30 of them — double the Happy Isles allocation — which makes this the highest-capacity way onto the southbound John Muir Trail anywhere in the park. It also skips the 22 hardest in-park miles and 5,900 feet of climbing that Happy Isles hikers do before they get here.
The Route
The trailhead is marked by a John Muir Trail sign south of the Dog Lake parking area, and it starts near the Tuolumne Lodge parking lot. A short way in you cross a bridge over the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne, then reach the Lyell Fork and the pair of bridges known as Twin Bridges — three miles round trip and, in the park's words, mostly flat.
Beyond that the John Muir Trail and Pacific Crest Trail run together up the open grassy floor of Lyell Canyon, with views of the Kuna Crest and Mount Lyell. NPS gives the canyon as 11.4 miles round trip with 300 feet of gain, which is why it reads as a walk rather than a climb. Yosemite's four-trail-mile rule from Tuolumne Meadows still applies, so the first legal camp is a way up the canyon.
Then it climbs. Donohue Pass sits at 11,056 feet on the park's southern boundary and is the highest point of the Pacific Crest Trail inside Yosemite. Cross it on a Donohue Pass eligible permit and one Yosemite permit carries you the rest of the John Muir Trail, with no Whitney stamp and no permits from the forests and parks south of here. Turn left at Ireland Creek instead and you can loop out over Ireland and Evelyn Lakes and back down Rafferty Creek, 22.2 miles with 2,150 feet of gain.
The Feeling
Two bridges over the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne, then miles of open grass with the river running beside you and the Kuna Crest on your left. It is the least dramatic start to a famous trail imaginable, and that is the appeal — you walk into the wilderness at 8,600 feet without earning it, and the canyon takes hours to give way to the climb toward Donohue.
Trailhead Information
Lyell Canyon Trailhead
Marked by a John Muir Trail sign south of the Dog Lake parking area. The trail starts near the Tuolumne Lodge parking lot and is part of both the John Muir Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail.
Restrooms
Water on site
Parking
Park at the Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center or the Dog Lake parking lot. Long-term parking for the length of your trip is free and needs no reservation, and food lockers are available at trailhead parking areas. Overnight parking on Tioga Road ends October 15.
Getting There
Reachable only when Tioga Road is open, typically late May through October or November. If you hold a reservation and the road is closed, the permit is not valid and there is no refund.
Nearest Services
Tuolumne Meadows. Permits are issued at the Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center, 8 am to 5 pm. The post office accepts General Delivery packages roughly mid-June to mid-September.
Rules & Regulations
- •Wilderness permit required for any overnight stay in the Yosemite Wilderness, year-round
- •Only Donohue Pass eligible permits are valid for exiting Yosemite southbound on the John Muir Trail
- •Maximum group size is 15 people, or 8 for cross-country travel more than a quarter mile off trail
- •Allowed bear canisters are required throughout Yosemite; hanging food is not permitted anywhere in the park, with no exception for through-hikers
- •Camp at least 100 feet from any water source and trail, and at least four trail miles from Tuolumne Meadows
- •Campfires are prohibited above 9,600 feet
- •The permit is valid only for continuous travel; one night in the Tuolumne Meadows backpackers campground is an allowed exception for through-hikers
- •Park at the Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center or the Dog Lake parking lot
- •Camping within a mile of the High Sierra Camps is restricted to the designated campgrounds
- •Bear spray is prohibited in Yosemite; pets, wheeled vehicles and drones are prohibited in wilderness
Gear Checklist
Required
- An allowed bear canister, rentable at any wilderness permit station
- Water treatment — the Tuolumne runs beside the trail but needs filtering or boiling
- A stove; campfires are illegal above 9,600 feet and much of this route is above it
- Warm layers for high-country nights, which run far colder than the rest of the park
- Rain shell for afternoon thunderstorms
Recommended
- Gaiters or shoes you do not mind soaking — NPS warns the trail can be very muddy in early summer
- Head net for the mosquito weeks after snowmelt
- Resupply plan if you are continuing south; Tuolumne Meadows post office takes General Delivery roughly mid-June to mid-September
- Trekking poles for the Donohue climb under a loaded pack
- Bags for packing out toilet paper
Plan Your Trip
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Gear Checklist
Required and recommended gear for Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible)
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Shuttle Services
Trailhead transportation options
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Key Landmarks
Lyell Canyon Trailhead
Marked by a John Muir Trail sign south of the Dog Lake parking area; the trail starts near the Tuolumne Lodge parking lot. Flush toilets.
Dana Fork bridge
A bridged crossing of the Dana Fork of the Tuolumne River, a short distance from the trailhead.
Twin Bridges (Lyell Fork)
The two bridges at the Lyell Fork, a popular scenic destination. Three miles round trip from the trailhead.
Lyell Canyon
Open grassy floor where the John Muir and Pacific Crest Trails run together, with views of the Kuna Crest and Mount Lyell.
Ireland Creek junction
Leaves the canyon for Ireland and Evelyn Lakes, returning down Rafferty Creek as a 22.2-mile loop.
Donohue Pass
Yosemite's southern boundary and the high point of the Pacific Crest Trail in the park. Only Donohue Pass eligible permits may cross it southbound.
Safety & Planning
Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible) FAQ
How many Lyell Canyon Donohue Pass permits are issued per day?
30 people. Yosemite caps Donohue Pass exits at 45 a day across the two eligible trailheads and gives 30 of them to Lyell Canyon, with 15 to Happy Isles to Past LYV. Within the 30, eighteen are reservable by lottery 24 weeks in advance and twelve are released seven days out at 7 am Pacific.
Is Lyell Canyon a better John Muir Trail start than Happy Isles?
It has double the quota and skips 22 miles and 5,900 feet of climbing, so on permit odds and on legs it is easier. What it skips is the part people remember: the Happy Isles trailhead at mile zero, Vernal and Nevada Falls, and the walk under the south face of Half Dome. Both permits carry you over Donohue Pass and down the rest of the trail.
How hard is the hike up Lyell Canyon?
Barely a hike, at first. NPS gives Twin Bridges as 3 miles round trip and mostly flat, and the full canyon as 11.4 miles round trip with 300 feet of gain. The climbing starts at the head of the canyon on the way to Donohue Pass at 11,056 feet, which most parties reach on day two or three.
Where is the Lyell Canyon trailhead?
At Tuolumne Meadows. A sign reading "John Muir Trail" marks it south of the Dog Lake parking area, and the trail starts near the Tuolumne Lodge parking lot. Park at the Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center or the Dog Lake lot. It is only reachable when Tioga Road is open.
What are the odds of getting a Lyell Canyon permit?
Unpublished. Yosemite releases its wilderness lottery statistics as chart images only, with no percentages in the text, so the park states no success rate for Lyell Canyon and any figure quoted for it comes from outside NPS. The numbers you can act on are the quota — 30 a day — and the release schedule, 60% at 24 weeks and 40% at seven days.
Where can you camp in Lyell Canyon?
At least four trail miles from Tuolumne Meadows, at least 100 feet from water and trail, and on durable ground rather than meadow. Campfires are prohibited above 9,600 feet. Through-hikers passing through Tuolumne Meadows may also spend one night in the backpackers' campground there without breaking the continuous-travel rule.
How much does a Lyell Canyon wilderness permit cost?
$10 per application and $5 per person if awarded, both non-refundable. Roughly November through April, outside the reservation season, permits are issued at permit stations with no reservation and no fee — but Tioga Road is closed then.
What happens if Tioga Road is closed on your entry date?
You lose the trip and the money. Recreation.gov's own note on this trailhead says that if you make a reservation and the road is closed, your permit is not valid and there is no refund. Tioga Road typically opens late May or early June and closes after the first significant snowfall, so early-season and late-season reservations both carry that risk.
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Trail Conditions
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Photography Guide
Golden Hour
Evening light down the length of Lyell Canyon, when the low sun runs along the grass and the Kuna Crest goes gold on the east side.
Best Light
Early morning at Twin Bridges, with the Lyell Fork still and the meadow holding mist before the sun clears the canyon wall.
Beat the Crowds
The first three miles to Twin Bridges are a day-hike destination and stay busy. Past that the traffic is all through-hikers, spread thin across the day. Camp the legal four miles out and you have the canyon to yourself at both ends of the day.
Classic Shots
- 📍Twin Bridges over the Lyell Fork with Mount Lyell behind
- 📍The open meadow floor of Lyell Canyon at sunset
- 📍The Kuna Crest from the canyon floor in late afternoon
- 📍The John Muir Trail sign at the trailhead south of Dog Lake parking
- 📍The Donohue Pass boundary at 11,056 feet, looking back into the park
Can't Get a Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible) Permit?
Consider these alternatives if your preferred dates aren't available.
Happy Isles to Past LYV (Donohue Pass eligible)
Similar ExperienceThe other Donohue Pass eligible trailhead, starting at the John Muir Trail's northern terminus in Yosemite Valley.
Permit required
Tradeoffs
Half the quota — 15 people a day against 30 — and 22 miles with 5,900 feet of gain before you reach Tuolumne. What you get is the classic mile-zero start and the waterfalls.
Lyell Canyon (no Donohue Pass)
Easier AlternativeThe same canyon on a permit that stays inside the park — fine for an out-and-back or the Ireland and Evelyn Lakes loop.
Permit required
Tradeoffs
A much smaller quota at 6 by lottery plus 4 a week out, but a separate applicant pool. NPS marks it explicitly not eligible to exit Yosemite on the John Muir Trail.
Cathedral Lakes
Same AreaThe other Tuolumne Meadows entry onto the John Muir Trail, 7.6 miles round trip and 1,000 feet of gain into the Cathedral Range.
Permit required
Tradeoffs
A 25-person quota and alpine lakes instead of meadow, but it runs north-west toward Yosemite Valley rather than south, so it cannot take you over Donohue Pass.
Rafferty Creek to Vogelsang
Same AreaAlso from Tuolumne Meadows, 14.4 miles round trip with 1,600 feet of gain into the lakes and peaks around Vogelsang.
Permit required
Tradeoffs
A 20-person daily quota with far fewer applicants chasing it, and it links back to Lyell Canyon over Ireland and Evelyn Lakes if you want a loop.
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Where to Stay
Nearby campgrounds to complete your Lyell Canyon (Donohue Pass eligible) trip
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