Half dome how many miles

Yosemite Valley shuttle stop 16 provides easy access. If you are driving, a hikers parking lot is located just east of Curry Village Half Dome Village , but like all parking lots in Yosemite Valley, the spots get taken up very early in the day. From the Happy Isles Trailhead, follow the paved trail south as it begins its ascent up the narrowing gorge that surrounds the Merced River. Continuing up the gorge now on the right south side, the trail gets more strenuous with many granite steps making their way up the steep slopes in front of Vernal Fall.

During spring runoff, this part of the trail is thrilling as spray from the powerful fall makes everything wet and slippery; there is a reason they call it the Mist Trail! While you will typically remain dry during the low-flow late summer and autumn months, be prepared to get wet during spring and early summer. Just past the spray zone, the steps get even steeper as the ingenious trail heads into an alcove before making its final ascent to the top of Vernal Fall.

Above Vernal Fall, the trail continues along the banks of the river as the majestic Liberty Cap and Mount Broderick peaks can now be seen in the distance. A second hiker's bridge crosses back over to the left north side of the river as the trail wanders up through a lovely forested section. Then with Nevada Fall in view, the trail makes its final big push up several switchbacks that ascend the boulderfield under Liberty Cap.

Just as you think your legs can't do it any more, the trail will top out. You are now roughly feet above the floor of Yosemite Valley, but you still have feet more of elevation gain to get to the top of Half Dome! At the trail junction, turn left and head northeast towards Little Yosemite Valley. After a brief section of uphill just under Liberty Cap, the trail begins a leisurely descent into the lovely forested valley. Enjoy this section of trail as it is the only level hiking you will experience all day.

At the trail junctions, follow the signs that point to Half Dome. Steel cables and wooden planks are placed along the dome to assist hikers to the summit in the summer months. The cables are removed every October, and replaced in late May. A Half Dome hike is one that should only be attempted when the cables are up and the weather permits. Do not hike Half Dome unprepared. Despite the popularity of this hike, it is not suitable for novice or unfit hikers. Understand your limits, take the recommended amount of water, and plan appropriately.

Several Half Dome hikers are rescued each year due to unpreparedness. Little Yosemite Valley lies upstream from Nevada Fall, at an elevation of 6, feet 1, meters.

The hike-in campground here is a little under 4 miles 6. It's the closest starting point to Half Dome, so if you're determined to beat the bottlenecks at the cables, spend the night here and get an early start the next morning, and you'll have a two or three hour head start over the crowds hiking up from the the Happy Isles trailhead in Yosemite Valley. You do need a wilderness permit to camp in Little Yosemite Valley, but you don't need a campground reservation - if you've got the wilderness permit, you're allowed to camp here.

Wilderness permits are free sort of - more on this in the next paragraph , but, for this area, extremely popular, and doubly so since the institution of the Half Dome permit system. The park service allows 60 percent of the wilderness permits for any particular trailhead to be reserved up to six months in advance, and holds the other 40 percent back to give out to lucky hikers the day of travel or up to 24 hours in advance. The wilderness permits office in Yosemite Valley next to the post office in Yosemite Village opens at a.

If you know well in advance when you're planning to climb Half Dome, you want to camp in Little Yosemite Valley, and you prefer to get your drama from actual outdoor adventures rather than from trying to make logistical arrangements, reserve your wilderness permit ahead of time.

You can do this from the National Park Service website or by calling You can get permits for groups of up to 15 people. Given that some people camp multiple nights in Little Yosemite Valley and that the park service also issues permits for other trailheads that are part of multi-day swings through the Half Dome area, plan on sharing the campground with about a hundred other campers on any given night. One more thing to keep in mind: Half Dome is probably Yosemite's most strenuous day hike, and although camping in Little Yosemite Valley allows you to spread it over multiple days, it also means you'll have to do all but the section from LYV to the top of Half Dome while packing a tent, sleeping bag, and other creature comforts on your back - it's about 4.

So unless you've got a personal sherpa, this option isn't overwhelmingly easier than doing it all in one day. The primary advantage of overnighting in Little Yosemite Valley is being able to get to the cables before the crowds arrive. On your way up the trail you'll find this sign explaining why not. Since , permits have been required every day of the week. Without a permit, you can hike only as far as the base of the subdome, which is where a series of switchbacks begin about a quarter mile before the base of the cables see this photo.

Permits are awarded via lottery - see the next topic for more information. In addition to a cable-route permit, you'll need a wilderness permit if you want to camp out somewhere along the trail instead of doing Half Dome as a day hike.

If you're getting a wilderness permit, you can get a Half Dome cables permit at the same time without having to make additional reservations. Half Dome permits are awarded via lottery. Entry for the main lottery permits per day takes place during March, and throughout the summer the park service also awards another 50 or so permits per day two days in advance, again by lottery.

You can apply for these permits online or by calling The number of extra permits awarded will vary depending on their estimates of how busy the trail will be. Here's the park service's explanation of the extra permits:. The daily lotteries will have an application period two days prior to the hiking date with a notification late that night. So, to hike on Saturday, you would apply on Thursday and receive an email notification of results late on Thursday night.

Results will also be available online, or by phone the next morning. The application period will be from midnight to 1 pm Pacific time. You can request up to six permits per application. The NPS website has the official details about the lottery process plus a page showing graphs of the number of permits requested for each day. The permits for the trip leader and alternate cannot be transferred, though the trip leaders can bring along anyone they want for the remaining permits.

This policy, instituted in , is intended to prevent permit hoarding and scalping, which were reportedly widespread during When you enter the lottery, you have to enter somebody's name as the "trip leader", and you can optionally list an alternate trip leader as well.

If neither the trip leader nor the alternate are present on the hike, none of the permits will be considered valid and your group won't be allowed past the permit-checking station at the base of the subdome.

For the two-days-ahead permits, apply sometime before 1 p. Pacific time two days before the day for which you want a permit apply on Thursday if you want permits for Saturday, for example. Sometimes a bucket list can feel never-ending, and you may not be sure where to start. If you want to hike Half Dome this summer, there are some things you need to know before you can check it off your bucket list!

The Cable Route requires each hiker has a permit that is awarded through a lottery system that takes place at the end of March. In addition, 50 or so daily permits are awarded two days in advance throughout the summer by lottery as well. Check out Recreation. Many people hike Half Dome in one day, but it is not recommended without proper training.

The first thing to consider, is getting a permit for a day hike. There are day hiking permits available each day and they are granted by lottery.