Half Dome After the Cables Come Down: Early November Trail Notes

By early November the Half Dome cables are almost always down for the season — the park pulls them around mid-October and doesn't put them back up until late May. That changes the whole character of this hike. You're not applying for the $10 day-hike permit right now because there's nothing to apply for; the lottery only runs while the cables are up, and the next application window doesn't open until March 2027. What's left is a long, quiet approach hike to Sub Dome or Little Yosemite Valley, with the actual summit off-limits to anyone without technical rock gear. The full loop via Mist Trail up and John Muir Trail down (or vice versa) runs 14.2 miles round trip, climbing from the trailhead at 4,035 feet to the Half Dome summit at 8,846 feet. That's about 4,800 feet of gain and a similar amount of loss on the way back. Most people doing this hike in November aren't going past Sub Dome — the granite shoulder just below where the cables start — because the final pitch is a slab climb that turns into a skating rink with any frost or snow. Fall is genuinely one of the better times to be on this trail if summiting isn't the goal. The crowds thin out hard compared to July and August, temperatures in the valley are cool and comfortable for climbing, and you get fall color along the Merced River corridor on the way up. The tradeoff is daylight — November days are short, so a dawn start is non-negotiable if you want Little Yosemite Valley and back without finishing in the dark. There's no official water source list for this route in the permit data, so plan around the obvious crossings: the river and falls spray near Vernal and Nevada Falls are reliable early in the hike, but don't count on anything above Little Yosemite Valley. Treat everything you pull from the river. Common mistakes this time of year: people who did this hike in summer assume the cables will be up and only realize at the trailhead sign that they're down. Check current cable status before you drive up — exact removal timing shifts year to year with weather. The other mistake is underestimating ice. The granite slabs near Sub Dome hold shade and catch overnight frost, and they get slick fast once temperatures drop below freezing, which happens regularly in November mornings. If your goal really is the cabled summit, this isn't your window — plan for the March 2027 lottery and a summer or early-fall date instead. If you're after a long, scenic, cable-free day in a much quieter Yosemite, early November delivers that without a permit application at all. — Compiled by the PermitSnag team from agency info, ranger updates, and public trip logs.