Yosemite Wilderness Permit — Poopenaut Valley (Hetch Hetchy)

Poopenaut Valley (Hetch Hetchy): what makes it different

Poopenaut Valley is a dead-end drop of about 1,200 feet from Hetch Hetchy Road to the Tuolumne River, a mile or so below O'Shaughnessy Dam. It is the shortest overnight in the Hetch Hetchy area, a steep hike with a grassy river meadow at the bottom and no onward trail.^8,4

Getting to the start

The trailhead is on Hetch Hetchy Road, about 4 miles past the entrance station, signed on the left side. The Park Service says parking is very limited. Hiking Project describes a small turnout on the right with a bear box and room for 2 to 3 cars.^2,4,11

Permits for this trailhead come through the Hetch Hetchy Entrance window. The Park Service table lists no toilet here.¹

Overnight parking is a question to ask at pickup. An older angling guide says overnight parking is not allowed, while a May 2018 backpacking report left a truck at the trailhead for the night and found it there on the way out.^13,9

The first leg

The Park Service puts the hike at 2.5 miles round trip with about 1,279 feet of gain and loss, steep down and strenuous back up. Sources disagree a little: Sierra Nevada Ally gives 2.4 miles and 1,230 feet, and Hiking Project measures 1.1 miles one way with a 50 percent maximum grade.^2,12,11

Hiking Project describes a trail that starts across an open area, enters woods, drops through forest recovering from fire, follows a creek gully near the 0.7 mile mark and levels into a meadow around 0.9 miles. It calls the tread narrow and sometimes overgrown and hard to follow, especially in spring.¹¹

Recreation.gov calls it quick access to the Tuolumne River 1,200 feet below O'Shaughnessy Dam and says no other trails connect to this route.⁸

Terrain and difficulty

Oak, pine and fir on a steep slope, then a flat river meadow. Poison oak lines the trail in several reports, and one backpacking report had to climb over downed trees. At the bottom, a wide grassy meadow can be soggy.^9,10,12

The Ecological Angler describes the valley floor as wet and dry meadow with willow thickets along the channel, long slow runs and few riffles, with brown trout in the upper valley and big pools.¹³

Quota at this entry point

• 2026 daily quota at Poopenaut Valley (Hetch Hetchy), overnight wilderness: 25 people a day. 15 go through the lottery 24 weeks ahead and 10 are released first come, first served one week ahead, as the Park Service table prints them. Recreation.gov availability for this permit would not load.¹

Rules specific to this entry point

Hetch Hetchy water goes to San Francisco. The Park Service says to keep all washing and waste at least 300 feet from streams and from the reservoir's high water line, and Recreation.gov repeats the 300 foot rule for the Tuolumne watershed on this division.^5,8

Recreation.gov says Half Dome is not available with this trailhead. A bear canister is required for food throughout the Yosemite wilderness. The Park Service keeps pets off all trails here.^8,5,4

Hiking Project says fishing needs a California fishing license. The Park Service bans swimming and boating in the reservoir itself.^11,4

Where it leads

The valley floor and the Tuolumne River. Sierra Nevada Ally says the river here is a place to cool off, swim or fish. A 2013 swimmer found the water just below the dam extremely cold, and the Ecological Angler reports a reach with about 6,000 to 9,000 trout.^12,10,13

There is nowhere further to go on foot. Recreation.gov says no other trails connect, so this trailhead is a base camp rather than a start of a loop.⁸

What trip reports say

A May 2018 post on Nick's Backcountry Adventures describes a party of four camping on a Saturday night. Most people head to the west end of the valley, they wrote, but the group turned east and set up on a flat spot just above the river. The Tuolumne was high and fast and roared all night.⁹

The same report says the way down was hard on the thighs. The climb out took just over an hour for 1.2 miles at what the writer called a 40 percent grade. Fishing was poor because of the high water, and they had the valley to themselves.⁹

A July 2013 post on Beaut-tree by a writer named Denise describes a solo Thursday afternoon swim. She counted 1.3 miles each way, saw nobody on the trail or at the river, found poison oak along much of the path and described the water as immensely cold. Ants on the warm rocks were the nuisance.¹⁰

A May 2016 check-in on Hiking Project by David Hitchcock reports a steep descent, an overgrown and hard to follow trail in places, and a full river because of a release at the dam.¹¹

When to go from here

Dam releases change the river. The May 2016 and May 2018 reports found it full and fast, while the July 2013 swimmer found low, calm flow. Sierra Nevada Ally lists spring wildflowers, a warm summer for river dips and quiet in fall.^11,9,10,12

The Park Service table gives the Hetch Hetchy entrance window for 2026 as April 24 to October 18. Its wilderness permits page, updated December 31, 2025, says reservations run from late April through October, but the reservations page, updated June 22, 2026, says May through October.^1,6,7

Compare with nearby entry points

• Mather Ranger Station (Hetch Hetchy): Mather has the same 15 plus 10 quota but is a 16 mile round trip to Smith Peak instead of a 2.5 mile drop to a river.^1,2
• Beehive Meadows (Hetch Hetchy): Beehive Meadows has a flush toilet, a quota of 21 plus 14 and leads to Laurel Lake and Lake Vernon, 14.2 and 19.1 miles round trip.^1,3
• Aspen Valley (Hetch Hetchy): Aspen Valley has a quota of only 2 plus 1 and trails that lead south toward Tioga Road, east toward White Wolf or north toward Smith Meadow. Poopenaut has none of that onward choice.^1,8

Sources

1. Trailhead Information, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
2. Day Hikes in Hetch Hetchy, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
3. Hetch Hetchy Area Trails, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
4. Poopenaut Valley Trailhead, Yosemite National Park, National Park Service. Read 2026-10-15.
5. Wilderness Regulations, 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, Poopenaut Valley division, Recreation.gov. Read 2026-10-15.
9. Poopenaut Valley, Nick's Backcountry Adventures. Read 2026-10-15.
10. Reflecting on Life through the Tuolumne River: Poopenaut Valley Trail and Rafting, Beaut-tree. Read 2026-10-15.
11. Poopenaut Valley Trail, Hiking Project. Read 2026-10-15.
12. Mountains Calling: Hetch Hetchy offers late season outings, Sierra Nevada Ally. Read 2026-10-15.
13. Fly Fishing Poopenaut Valley, Tuolumne River, The Ecological Angler. Read 2026-10-15.

Safety & planning

Alternatives to a Poopenaut Valley (Hetch Hetchy) permit