Yosemite Wilderness Permit — Mirror Lake to Snow Creek

Mirror Lake to Snow Creek: what makes it different

Mirror Lake to Snow Creek starts at the east end of Yosemite Valley, walks past Mirror Lake into Tenaya Canyon and then climbs 2,700 feet in switchbacks to the north rim. Recreation.gov calls it the steepest climb out of the Valley. The quota is 15 lottery and 10 week-ahead places a day.^8,2,1

Getting to the start

The trailhead is at Valley shuttle stop 17. NPS says there is no parking at the trailhead and that parking is not available at Happy Isles or Mirror Lake. Park at Curry Village, or anywhere in the east Valley, and ride the free shuttle. The first mile is paved and a bicycle can go that far.^2,1

Permits come from the Yosemite Valley Wilderness Center. NPS lists a vault toilet for the trailhead. The Snow Creek page puts vault toilets 0.5 miles and 1 mile from the trailhead, the second at the end of the paved service road at Mirror Lake. It says there are none farther along.^1,2

The first leg

The first part of the route is the Mirror Lake Trail. About a mile beyond Mirror Lake you reach the Snow Creek Trail junction and start climbing out of Tenaya Canyon one switchback at a time. NPS says granite landforms, including Half Dome, Quarter Domes and Clouds Rest, come into view after only a dozen switchbacks.²

The climb after the junction is about 2.6 miles, ending at a junction near Snow Creek. A right turn there leads to a footbridge, which NPS uses as its day-hike turnaround. NPS counts 9.4 miles round trip and 2,700 feet of gain for the day hike, and 6 to 7 hours.²

Terrain and difficulty

NPS calls the trail grueling, comparable to the Yosemite Falls Trail, but narrower. Much of it is exposed, hot at midday in summer, and loose sand over rock makes footing slippery. NPS says to watch for rattlesnakes and that no drinking water is available along the route.²

Candace Gregory of Sierra News, hiking it on January 14, 2015, counted the first two miles of climbing as about 2,400 feet, the most gain of any trail out of the Valley. She said the south-facing switchbacks get very hot and that snow began near 6,700 feet.⁹

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Mirror Lake to Snow Creek, overnight wilderness, lottery share: 15 people a day. NPS trailhead page, updated May 11, 2026. The Yosemite Valley window is April 24 to October 18, 2026.¹
• 2026 daily quota at Mirror Lake to Snow Creek, overnight wilderness, week-ahead share: 10 people a day. Released first come, first served seven days ahead, printed as a separate column by NPS.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

NPS says a Valley trailhead permit can start or end a trip in the Valley, but walking through the Valley ends the permit. A loop that drops down the Yosemite Falls Trail does not continue on the same permit. No exception exists for Yosemite Valley, unlike Tuolumne Meadows.^4,5

Where it leads

Recreation.gov says the trail takes hikers toward Snow Creek, North Dome and the north rim of the Valley. Wildland Trekking's four-day traverse starts here, climbs about 3,000 feet through many switchbacks into black oak forest and camps along the gentle cascades of Snow Creek, with water. Day two reaches Indian Rock and North Dome.^8,12

An Outbound listing by R. Adam Prieto describes camping near the Snow Creek overlook with Half Dome and Basket Dome in view, a swimming spot about 200 yards from the sites, and an optional five-mile hike to Indian Rock. Its mileage and gain figures do not match NPS, so treat its distances with caution.¹¹

What trip reports say

The January 2015 Sierra News hike turned around at the top, saw one person on the lower trail and a few at Mirror Lake, found Snow Creek mostly frozen, and noted that Mirror Lake has silted up so reflection photos need high water.⁹

In an August 2012 Backpacking Light thread, a planner of a three-day Mirror Lake, North Dome and Yosemite Falls loop was told Snow Creek was the one reliable source in a dry year. Another poster said she found water in only a few spots in mid-May, and a permit-office staffer said Snow Creek was running.¹⁰

When to go from here

NPS says the Snow Creek Trail is open all year and is a popular winter route for snowshoers and skiers heading into the wilderness. The lower part can be snowy and icy, while the upper part gets sun and often melts out. Start early in summer.²

A poster on the 2012 thread pointed out that overnight parking on high-country roads closes October 15, which leaves Snow Creek as the obvious way up after that date. NPS confirms the parking ban on the trailhead page.^10,1

NPS pages disagree on the start of reservations: the trailhead page gives April 24 for the Valley, the Wilderness Permits page (December 2025) says late April through October, and the Reservations page (June 2026) says May through October.^1,6,7

Compare with nearby entry points

• Yosemite Falls: Yosemite Falls has the same 15 and 10 quota and the same 2,700 feet of climbing, but it starts at Camp 4 with a flush toilet, parking at Yosemite Falls and a trail NPS calls wider. NPS also says Snow Creek is quieter than other Valley trails.^1,2
• May Lake to Snow Creek: May Lake to Snow Creek uses the same drainage in the other direction, from Tioga Road down to the Valley rim. Recreation.gov calls it the shortest route between Tioga Road and the Valley. Its quota is 6 lottery and 4 week-ahead people, and it is only open in the Tioga Road window.^8,1
• Porcupine Creek: Porcupine Creek reaches North Dome from Tioga Road with 1,100 feet of gain on NPS's day-trip figures, instead of 2,700 feet out of the Valley. Its quota is 12 and 8.^3,1

Sources

1. Trailhead Information, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Snow Creek Trail, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Tioga Road (West of Olmsted Point) Backpacking Trails, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Wilderness Regulations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Wilderness Permit Frequently Asked Questions, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Wilderness Permits, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Wilderness Permit Reservations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Yosemite National Park Wilderness Permits (Mirror Lake to Snow Creek division), Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Hiking from Yosemite Valley up the Snow Creek Trail and beyond, Sierra News, Candace Gregory, January 2015. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Yosemite Mirror Lake to Snow Creek (forum thread), Backpacking Light forums, August 2012. Read 2026-10-15.
11. Snow Creek Trail, The Outbound, R. Adam Prieto. Read 2026-10-15.
12. Yosemite Falls and North Dome Traverse, Wildland Trekking (guided trip itinerary). Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Mirror Lake to Snow Creek permit