Yosemite Wilderness Permit — Miguel Meadow (Hetch Hetchy)

Miguel Meadow (Hetch Hetchy): what makes it different

Miguel Meadow is the Hetch Hetchy permit for the old fire road that climbs from O'Shaughnessy Dam to Miguel Meadows and runs on west to Lake Eleanor. NPS counts 7.5 miles to the meadow and 10.7 to the lake, sells 9 lottery and 6 week-ahead places a day, and lists a flush toilet at the start.^1,2,7

Getting to the start

NPS lists the trailhead under the Hetch Hetchy Entrance section with a flush toilet. It is one of three trails that begin at O'Shaughnessy Dam, and the trailhead page says to use this permit to camp near Miguel Meadows, the plural spelling NPS uses in its own question and answer.¹

Hetch Hetchy Road keeps daylight hours. A 2022 write-up says it was open from 8 am to 5 pm that summer, and a 2023 party arrived at the gate at 7:30 expecting it to be locked until 8. The Wilderness Conditions page of September 2026 says the road is open sunrise to sunset and that overnight parking is allowed in the lot by the backpackers campground.^10,9,3

Where to collect the permit depends on which NPS page you read. The Wilderness Conditions page, updated September 11, 2026, says to pick it up at an open wilderness center, with Big Oak Flat nearest. The permit FAQ, updated August 12, 2025, lists the Hetch Hetchy Entrance Station among the issuing places.^3,4

The first leg

From the dam the route walks toward Wapama Falls and, about a mile on, turns left at a signed junction onto an old construction road. Nine large switchbacks climb the wall above the reservoir. A 2022 write-up puts the forest junction 2.9 miles from the start, where the left branch goes to Lake Eleanor and the narrower right branch goes on toward Laurel Lake.¹⁰

Recreation.gov describes this division as following the Beehive Meadow and Lake Vernon trail to the top of the switchbacks and then turning west through forest to Miguel Meadow and Lake Eleanor. So the first miles are shared with the Beehive Meadows permit. A 2023 party noted that the turn onto the Miguel Meadows fire road came sooner than they remembered and that the climb felt easier.^7,9

Terrain and difficulty

The reservoir sits at about 3,900 feet, so the climb starts hot and exposed. The Substack writer who started on July 4, 2023 called the switchbacks short and brutal, then walked through lupine, clarkia, pussy paws and paintbrush at the top, where the trail splits.^2,8

A Chronicle column from 2018, written from the Lake Eleanor side, puts Miguel Meadow at 5,040 feet, 3.6 miles from the lake at 4,680 feet, on a trail that starts as a 100-year-old service road with patchy damage from the 2013 Rim Fire.¹¹

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Miguel Meadow (Hetch Hetchy), overnight wilderness, lottery share: 9 people a day. NPS trailhead page, updated May 11, 2026, row Miguel Meadow under Hetch Hetchy Entrance. Window April 24 to October 18, 2026.¹
• 2026 daily quota at Miguel Meadow (Hetch Hetchy), overnight wilderness, week-ahead share: 6 people a day. The share released seven days ahead on a first come, first served basis. NPS prints it as a separate column.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

Hetch Hetchy water goes to San Francisco, so Recreation.gov bans swimming and watering stock directly in streams within a mile of the reservoir and asks you to keep all washing and waste 300 feet from water along the Tuolumne watershed. Half Dome is not available with this permit.⁷

Where it leads

Miguel Meadows is 7.5 miles from the trailhead by NPS count, Lake Eleanor 10.7 and Cherry Valley 17.0. The Substack party chose Lake Eleanor over mosquito-heavy Laurel Lake in July 2023 and found a camp with a white sand beach and no mosquitoes.^2,8

Lake Eleanor and Cherry Lake also have trailheads in Stanislaus National Forest, and NPS says to get the permit from that agency if you start there. The Chronicle columnist found those easier to book than Hetch Hetchy in 2018, and his reservation details are out of date.^1,11

What trip reports say

On July 4, 2023 a Ranger Gupta writer and two friends picked up a Miguel Meadow permit, climbed the switchbacks and made camp at Lake Eleanor after rangers and AllTrails warned that high water had made many trails impassable. The party asked people coming down what they had seen before deciding where to sleep.⁸

A 2023 Drive. Hike. Repeat. loop party shared the lower miles of this route. They found the climb out of Hetch Hetchy hot and exposed, had to go back to the car for a forgotten permit, and were stopped by a backcountry ranger who asked to see it, which they say confirms the permit is checked.⁹

A 2022 Yiftah Shahar post, written from a hike last made in 2019, notes there is no service or visitor center at Hetch Hetchy, that dogs are prohibited on the trails and the dam, and that early-season sections of the upper flats can be flooded or muddy.¹⁰

When to go from here

Hetch Hetchy is lower and warmer than the high country. The 2022 write-up says it can be hot in summer and that the area stays open late in the fall because snow comes late, and a 2023 party found a very wet June in a heavy snow year.^10,9

NPS pages disagree about when reservations start: the Wilderness Permits page (December 31, 2025) says late April and the Reservations page (June 22, 2026) says May. The April 24 start of the Hetch Hetchy window on the trailhead page fits the first.^5,6,1

Compare with nearby entry points

• Beehive Meadows (Hetch Hetchy): Beehive Meadows leads to Laurel Lake and Lake Vernon instead of Lake Eleanor. NPS gives it 21 lottery and 14 week-ahead places a day and a flush toilet, well above the 9 and 6 here.^1,7
• Smith Peak (Hetch Hetchy): Smith Peak has the same 9 and 6 quota but no toilet at the start, and its trail climbs to a summit instead of crossing a meadow.^1,2
• Cottonwood Creek (Hetch Hetchy): Cottonwood Creek has 12 lottery and 8 week-ahead places and no toilet.¹

Sources

1. Trailhead Information, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Trail Descriptions and Distances (One Way), Yosemite National Park, National Park Service (PDF, file modified October 2022). Read 2026-10-15.
3. Wilderness Conditions Update, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Wilderness Permit Frequently Asked Questions, 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 (Miguel Meadow division), Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Hetch Hetchy: It's Not So Sketchy!, Ranger Gupta, Substack (trip of July 4, 2023). Read 2026-10-15.
9. Hetch Hetchy Loop, Drive. Hike. Repeat. (trip of late June 2023). Read 2026-10-15.
10. Yosemite NP: Hetch Hetchy to Laurel Lake, Yiftah Shahar (post of October 2022, hike last made in 2019). Read 2026-10-15.
11. Joining the 1 Percent Club at Yosemite's Laurel Lake, San Francisco Chronicle, Tom Stienstra (June 2, 2018). Read 2026-10-15.
12. Wilderness Regulations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Miguel Meadow (Hetch Hetchy) permit