Yosemite Wilderness Permit — Ostrander (Lost Bear Meadow)

Ostrander (Lost Bear Meadow): what makes it different

Ostrander (Lost Bear Meadow) is the Glacier Point Road trailhead for Ostrander Lake, a granite-rimmed lake on Horse Ridge with a stone ski hut on its shore. NPS lists the walk at 11.4 miles round trip and rates its permit demand Low. The quota is 15 lottery and 10 week-ahead places a day.^2,1,6

Getting to the start

The trailhead is about 9 miles up Glacier Point Road, in a wide parking area on the right just past the Bridalveil Creek crossing. Sierra News visits in 2013 and 2014 found a restroom, NPS lists a vault toilet, and yosemitehikes.com adds food lockers. Permits for the Wawona and Glacier Point Road trailheads are issued at the Wawona Visitor Center.^9,10,1,7

Glacier Point Road has no vehicle access when it is closed, typically from sometime in November to late May or June, and overnight parking is not allowed on it from October 15. Recreation.gov says it usually opens in mid-May and that a reservation made while the road is closed is not valid and not refunded.^1,5

The first leg

The first half is gentle. Sierra News found the trail mostly flat for the first 2.5 miles, and yosemitehikes.com describes meadows and streams that can be marshy in late May and early June and swampy after storms. The climbing comes in the second half, which one 2012 reviewer on yosemitehikes.com said starts with a steep hill about 1.5 miles from the lake.^9,7,8

Recreation.gov names the route as the most direct trail to Ostrander Lake and says it continues south toward Lost Bear Meadow, which explains the permit name. NPS lists the walk at 11.4 miles round trip with 1,500 feet of gain. Other counts run longer: 12.4 miles and about 1,600 feet on yosemitehikes.com, 12.5 miles in a 2013 Sierra News report, 12.88 miles in 2014, and 12.7 miles on Wikipedia.^5,2,7,9,10,6

Terrain and difficulty

Trip reports mention burned trees along the trail, a creek that runs beside it, and little shade on the climb. A 2016 reviewer called the second half the hardest with a 50 pound pack, and a 2020 family reviewer said an overpacked load made the climb very hard. Wikipedia says the last stretch climbs more than 1,500 feet in about 3 miles.^8,6

The trail has downed trees in spring. Sierra News counted about four to cross in April 2014 and several large ones in March 2015, and noted that stock animals could not pass until they were cleared.^10,11

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Ostrander (Lost Bear Meadow), overnight wilderness, lottery share: 15 people a day. NPS trailhead page, updated May 11, 2026. The Wawona Visitor Center window for Wawona and Glacier Point Road is May 16 to October 14, 2026.¹
• 2026 daily quota at Ostrander (Lost Bear Meadow), overnight wilderness, week-ahead share: 10 people a day. Released first come, first served seven days ahead. NPS prints it as a separate column.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

The ski hut is not a backpacker shelter. The Yosemite Conservancy runs it, limits it to 25 people a night, requires a reservation and charges from $50 per person per night. NPS says it is not recommended for novice skiers. Wikipedia says a hutmaster staffs it in winter.^3,6

Sierra News in 2015 watched rangers ask a party to leave after finding a camper with a dog off-trail in the wilderness. Pets are prohibited in the wilderness.^11,4

Where it leads

Ostrander Lake sits on Horse Ridge at about 8,500 feet, south of Glacier Point Road. Wikipedia calls it the main source of Bridalveil Creek. NPS says the trailhead is a good launch point for longer trips into the southern half of the park, and its Red Peak Pass loop starts at Mono Meadow instead.^2,6

Yosemitehikes.com says the upper trail opens to views of the back of Half Dome. Sierra News adds Mount Starr King and the Clark Range. The 2015 visit continued toward Heart Lake and ran out of time.^7,10,11

What trip reports say

Reviewers on yosemitehikes.com mostly describe quiet camping. One had the lake to himself for two days in August 2017, another saw two people from Wednesday to Friday in August 2014, and a June 2020 family had a camp spot alone. Sites and fire rings sit on the north, northeast and northwest sides of the lake, per the 2014 reviewer.⁸

Mosquitoes are the recurring complaint. A June 2020 reviewer said they were severe from about 7 pm. A July 2016 reviewer found them manageable at dawn and dusk. A May 2014 reviewer found none, with snow patches on the trail and across the lake.⁸

Sierra News hiked it in May 2013 with snowshoes that went unused and found the lake to themselves. In April 2014 they met patches of snow up to a foot deep and a lake still mostly frozen.^9,10

When to go from here

Yosemitehikes.com puts wildflowers from late June through July. Reports from mid-May show snow patches and a frozen or thawing lake, while the road itself does not open until about mid-May. Yosemitehikes.com says that in midwinter skiers use the hut as an overnight stop, often coming in from Badger Pass.^7,8,5,1

Compare with nearby entry points

• Mono Meadow: Mono Meadow, also on Glacier Point Road, has a smaller quota of 12 lottery and 8 week-ahead people and is Half Dome eligible. NPS starts its 48.1 mile Red Peak Pass loop there, climbing to the Clark Range, while Ostrander is a single lake trip.^1,2
• Bridalveil Creek: Bridalveil Creek has the same 15 and 10 quota but uses the campground toilet, which NPS says is flush when the campground is open, instead of a vault toilet.¹
• Glacier Point to Illilouette: Glacier Point to Illilouette has the larger quota on this road, 18 lottery and 12 week-ahead people, and a vault toilet with drinking water at the trailhead in summer.¹

Sources

1. Trailhead Information, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Wawona & Glacier Point Backpacking Trails, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Wilderness Permit Frequently Asked Questions, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Wilderness Regulations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Yosemite National Park Wilderness Permits (Ostrander (Lost Bear Meadow) division), Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
6. Ostrander Lake, Wikipedia. Read 2026-10-15.
7. Ostrander Lake, near trail's end, yosemitehikes.com. Read 2026-10-15.
8. Ostrander Lake Trail Reviews, yosemitehikes.com, 20 reader reviews 2012 to 2023. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Ostrander Lake Hike, Sierra News, Candace Gregory, May 2013. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Glacier Point Road to Ostrander Lake hike, Sierra News, Candace Gregory, April 2014. Read 2026-10-15.
11. Ostrander and Heart Lakes Hike, Sierra News, Candace Gregory, April 2015. Read 2026-10-15.
12. Wilderness Permits, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
13. Wilderness Permit Reservations, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to an Ostrander (Lost Bear Meadow) permit