Yosemite Wilderness Permit — Murphy Creek
Yosemite National Park · California
Murphy Creek is the trailhead on the shore of Tenaya Lake that leads north to Polly Dome Lakes, a short and quiet backpack that NPS rates Medium for permit demand. It takes 9 lottery and 6 week-ahead people a day, the same quota as the busier Sunrise Lakes trailhead across the road.
Get an alert when Murphy Creek opens on your dates.
When it opens
- 24 weeks
- Lottery opens 24 weeks before your entry date, at 12:01 am Pacific60% of the quotaYou apply on Recreation.gov.
- 22 weeks
- First come, first served from 22 weeks before your entry date, at 9 am PacificYou book on the agency's site.
- 1 week
- First come, first served from seven days before your entry date, at 7 am Pacific, until three days before40% of the quotaYou book on Recreation.gov.
Source: recreation.gov, nps.gov
70% of the openings our scanner caught on Murphy Creek were gone within 30 minutes.
Murphy Creek reservation dates
We alert you to cancellations and the 7 am release. Your start day also sets your lottery week.
October 2026
- Your start date
- Same lottery week: one application covers all 7 days
- Outside the Tuolumne Meadows reservation season (Jun 18 to Oct 14)
YOUR START
Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Your lottery week is the October 11 to 18 lottery. It opens 178 days before you start.
1 · APPLY
Sun, Apr 19, 2026 to Sat, Apr 25
Opens Sunday 12:01 am, closes Saturday 11:59 pm Pacific. Up to eight options on one application.
Passed for this start
2 · RESULTS, THEN ACCEPT
Mon, Apr 27
Results by 5 pm. Accept by Thu, Apr 30, 11:59 pm.
Passed for this start
3 · YOUR 7-DAY RELEASE
Wednesday, October 7, 2026, 7:00 am PDT
The other 40% of the day's quota, first-come, first-served on Recreation.gov. Be logged in before 7.
Passed for this start
YOUR TIMELINE · LOTTERY WEEK, THEN THE LAST WEEK BEFORE YOU START
- SUN 12:01 AM · OPENSSun, Apr 19, 2026Applications open
- SAT 11:59 PM · CLOSESSat, Apr 25Applications close
- MON BY 5 PMMon, Apr 27Results
- THU 11:59 PMThu, Apr 30Accept by
- FRI 9 AMFri, May 1Leftovers go first-come
- 23 WEEKSCancellations any day. We alert you.
- 7 DAYS OUT · 7 AM PDTWed, Oct 7, 2026The other 40% open
- LAST DAY TO RESERVESun, Oct 11Three days before you start
- YOU STARTWed, Oct 14, 2026Murphy Creek
Source: National Park Service, Yosemite wilderness permit reservation window, 2026 table, and the wilderness permit FAQ. Times are Pacific.
Murphy Creek daily quota
15 people a day. 9 by lottery, 6 seven days out.
Counted in people, not permits
Lottery, 24 weeks out
60% of the day
9
7 days out, 7 am PDT
40% of the day
6
NPS trailheads table: Murphy Creek | 9 | 6 | Vault
- max group size
- 15people
How to get a Murphy Creek permit
As of October 2026, Murphy Creek in Yosemite National Park, California requires a permit issued via reservation. Murphy Creek rates 6/10 on PermitSnag's demand index. Canceled Murphy Creek permits are re-released on the booking system, and PermitSnag alerts you the moment one opens.
- Type
- Overnight
- Location
- CA
Step 1: Create a Recreation.gov account
Sign up at Recreation.gov if you don't have an account. Have your payment info ready.
Step 2: Know the release schedule
Permits release on a rolling basis. Check the release time for your dates.
Step 3: Be ready when permits drop
Log in a few minutes early. Have your dates, group size, and payment ready to go.
Step 4: Monitor for cancellations
If your dates are sold out, people cancel all the time. Set up PermitSnag alerts to catch openings instantly.
More on Murphy Creek: Live availability activityWhen Murphy Creek permits open up
Guides: Murphy Creek permit guideCathedral Lakes permit guideRafferty Creek to Vogelsang permit guide
Murphy Creek: what makes it different
Murphy Creek is the trailhead on the shore of Tenaya Lake that leads north to Polly Dome Lakes, a short and quiet backpack that NPS rates Medium for permit demand. It takes 9 lottery and 6 week-ahead people a day, the same quota as the busier Sunrise Lakes trailhead across the road.1,2
Getting to the start
Hiking Project puts the start of the trail on the shore of Tenaya Lake, off Tioga Road, and gives no parking details. NPS lists a vault toilet and issues the permit at the Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center. NPS also sorts Tenaya Lake starts for you: go north for Murphy Creek and the Polly Dome Lakes, south for Clouds Rest, Sunrise Lakes or Sunrise High Sierra Camp.8,1
Tioga Road is closed in winter and typically opens in late May, Recreation.gov says, and a reservation is not valid or refunded if the road is still closed.7
A July 2010 party that came in from Glen Aulin ended at this trailhead and walked to the east side of Tenaya Lake to catch the free shuttle toward Tuolumne Meadows. They report the shuttle runs on the hour and half hour between Olmsted Point and Tuolumne Meadows. That is a 2010 schedule, so confirm it before relying on it.9
The first leg
Hiking Project measures the trail at 2.8 miles from the lakeshore trailhead to the junction with the Glen Aulin to May Lake trail, with 538 feet of climbing between roughly 8,185 and 8,703 feet. It starts in shaded lodgepole forest, with a short steep stretch before the grade eases.8
The trail follows Murphy Creek, which is dry in summer, then crosses open granite slabs marked with cairns and passes a small boggy pond. Recreation.gov describes the same sequence, from the creek to the slabs and the lodgepole forest.8,7
Terrain and difficulty
NPS rates the Polly Dome Lakes trip at 6 miles round trip and 600 feet of gain, and says the lakes lie north of Tenaya Lake just past Polly Dome. It adds that an unofficial, unmarked spur trail leads to them.2
Hiking Project puts that spur east of a large granite outcrop and about half a mile long, over downed trees and boulders, to the largest of the lakes. Views on the way include Polly Dome, Mount Hoffmann and Tuolumne Peak.8
Quota at this entry point
- 2026 daily quota at Murphy Creek, overnight wilderness, lottery share: 9 people a day. NPS trailhead page, updated May 11, 2026. Tuolumne Meadows table, window June 18 to October 14, 2026.1
- 2026 daily quota at Murphy Creek, overnight wilderness, week-ahead share: 6 people a day. The share released seven days ahead. NPS prints it as its own column and gives no combined total.1
Rules specific to this entry point
Regulations require camping 100 feet from water and from any trail and at least a mile from a road. Tenaya Lake sits on Tioga Road, so the first night belongs well up the trail and not near the lakeshore.4
Campfires are allowed only below 9,600 feet and only in existing rings, per the regulations. Hiking Project puts the highest point of this trail at 8,703 feet. Dogs are not allowed.4,8
Where it leads
The lakes are the point. Recreation.gov also says the trail leads on to May Lake or Glen Aulin, which makes Murphy Creek a gentle way into a longer loop across the northern Tuolumne country.7
The July 2010 party camped on a hill just west of the largest lake and reported views of Tuolumne Peak, Mount Hoffmann and Half Dome. They also scrambled a granite face up Cathedral Creek about half a mile past McGee Lake on the way in.9
What trip reports say
A Backpacking Light forum member who spent July 2 to 5, 2010 in the Tuolumne country called the swimming excellent. The water was cold but shallow, with diving rocks on the east side of the lake. Temperatures ran from about 35 to 70 degrees F.9
The same report says the hilltop camp had no bugs, while the low camps near Glen Aulin were buggy. Water was an easy walk down to the lake. They left by dropping through a steep, tree-covered draw to the Murphy Creek trail, a 3.5 mile day.9
Hiking Project reviewers call it a good first backpacking trip and a good intro for kids. The listing notes mosquitoes and says the trail gets less traffic than other Tuolumne trails.8
When to go from here
Mosquitoes are named on the Hiking Project listing, and the creek the trail follows is dry in summer. The window on the NPS trailhead page is June 18 to October 14, 2026.8,1
NPS pages disagree on when reservations start. The Wilderness Permits page (December 2025) says late April through October and the Reservations page (June 2026) says May through October. For a Tuolumne trailhead, the June 18 start on the trailhead page controls.5,6,1
Compare with nearby entry points
- Sunrise Lakes (no Donohue Pass): Sunrise Lakes leaves from the same lake but heads south. It has the same 9 and 6 quota, is Half Dome eligible, and NPS rates permit demand Very High, against Medium here.1,2
- May Lake: May Lake is 2 miles round trip and takes 15 lottery and 10 week-ahead people from a different trailhead, with NPS demand Very High. Murphy Creek is longer and quieter.1,3
- Glen Aulin: Glen Aulin takes 15 lottery and 10 week-ahead people, and NPS rates it High at 12.6 miles round trip with 750 feet of gain. The 2010 party walked in from Glen Aulin and used Murphy Creek only as their way out.1,2,9
Rules every Yosemite wilderness trailhead shares
- Any overnight stay in the Yosemite Wilderness needs a permit, all year; day hikes need none unless they go to Half Dome. Each trailhead has a daily quota.
- Reservations cover trips May through October. 60% of each quota goes by weekly lottery on Recreation.gov 24 weeks ahead; the other 40% opens first come, first served at 7 am Pacific seven days ahead.
- The fee is $10 per application plus $5 per person once a permit is issued, none of it refundable. Collect the permit in person the day before or the morning you start.
- Groups are 15 people at most, or 8 for cross-country hiking. Bear canisters are required throughout the wilderness, and you camp at least four trail miles from Yosemite Valley, Tuolumne Meadows, Glacier Point, Hetch Hetchy and Wawona.
Sources
- Trailhead Information, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
- Tuolumne Meadows Backpacking Trails, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
- Tioga Road (West of Olmsted Point) Backpacking Trails, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
- Wilderness Regulations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
- Wilderness Permits, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
- Wilderness Permit Reservations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
- Yosemite National Park Wilderness Permits (Murphy Creek division), Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
- Murphy Creek Trail, Hiking Project, user-maintained listing with reviews. Read 2026-10-15.
- Poly Dome Lakes and Murphy Creek trip report (July 2010), Backpacking Light forum. Read 2026-10-15.
When to hike Murphy Creek
Weather Forecast
Trailhead
Backcountry Tips
- Day 4: 83% chance of precipitation. Pack rain gear.
- Day 5: 73% chance of precipitation. Pack rain gear.
- Snow expected: Check current trail conditions before departing.
Today
48°
28°
Thu
45°
31°
Fri
34°
28°
24%
Sat
37°
29°
83%
Sun
42°
27°
73%
Mon
56°
28°
Tue
57°
38°
Murphy Creek rules, gear and safety
Safety & planning
Emergency Info
Emergency contacts, ranger station locations, and satellite communicator tips for Murphy Creek.
Food Storage
Bear canister requirements, approved container lists, and rental locations for this permit.
Gear Checklist: Required and recommended gear for Murphy Creek · Shuttle Services: Trailhead transportation options · Guide Services: Experienced wilderness guides
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Murphy Creek FAQ
Is the Murphy Creek trailhead the same as the Sunrise Lakes trailhead?
No. Both start at Tenaya Lake, but NPS treats them as two trailheads: Murphy Creek goes north to Polly Dome Lakes and Sunrise goes south to Clouds Rest and Sunrise Lakes.
How hard is the walk to Polly Dome Lakes on a wilderness permit?
NPS gives 6 miles round trip and 600 feet of gain. Hiking Project measures 538 feet of climbing over 2.8 miles to the Glen Aulin trail junction, plus about half a mile of unmarked spur to the largest lake.
Murphy Creek trail conditions and trip reports
Trail Conditions
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Trip Reports
Write ReportAlternatives to a Murphy Creek permit
Where to stay near Murphy Creek
- Porcupine Flat CampgroundYosemite National Park
- Tuolumne Meadows CampgroundYosemite National Park
- Tuolumne Horse CampsitesYosemite National Park
- All California campgrounds
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