National Park Hiking Permit Lotteries: A Real Guide

The Short Answer

A handful of specific trails and climbs on public land require their own permit or lottery, separate from any park-wide entrance fee or timed-entry reservation — Yosemite's Half Dome cables, Zion's Angels Landing, and the Wave at Coyote Buttes North are the best-known examples. Most run through recreation.gov, application windows open weeks to months ahead, and missing the main lottery usually isn't the end of the trip if you know the fallback option.

• Trail-specific permits are different from park-wide timed-entry reservations — covered separately in our timed-entry reservations guide — because they gate one specific route or summit, not entry to the park itself.
• Most lotteries run on recreation.gov, whether the land is managed by the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, or the Bureau of Land Management.
• Odds and timing vary a lot: some hikes draw randomly from a pool of applicants months out, others hinge on a same-day or next-day mobile lottery.
• Missing a preseason lottery usually isn't fatal — daily or day-before lotteries, and in some cases walk-up quotas, exist as a backup for most of these permits.
• Application fees are small ($6–$15) but non-refundable regardless of whether you're selected.

Half Dome Cables (Yosemite): The Original Permit Lottery

The cable route up the back of Half Dome is capped at 300 hikers a day — about 225 day hikers and 75 backpackers — a limit the National Park Service enforces with a permit required for anyone continuing past the base of the subdome. Permits are only needed while the cables are up, typically from around Memorial Day weekend through mid-October (targeted for May 22 through October 13 in 2026, per the National Park Service), though snowpack can push the installation date later.

There are two ways in. The preseason lottery runs March 1 through March 31 on recreation.gov, with results posted in mid-April; you can request up to six permits on a single application. If you miss that window or didn't win, a daily lottery opens two days before each hiking date, accepting applications from midnight to 4 p.m. Pacific time, with results posted that same night. Both lotteries charge a $10 non-refundable application fee, plus $10 per person if you're awarded a permit — refundable if you cancel by 11:59 p.m. Pacific the day before your hike. Without a permit, there's no standby line for the cables themselves; rangers check for permits at the base, and hikers without one are turned back before the ascent.

Angels Landing (Zion): Two Chances at a Permit

Zion introduced a permit requirement for the chain-assisted final stretch of Angels Landing as a pilot in April 2022, after visitation climbed from roughly 2.8 million visits in 2011 to nearly 4.5 million by 2019 and the narrow, exposed ridge became a serious bottleneck and safety concern. The permit only applies past Scout Lookout — the approach trail up to that point requires no permit at all.

The seasonal lottery on recreation.gov opens roughly one to three months ahead of each season and lets you rank up to seven preferred hiking dates and time slots; results are announced after the window closes, giving successful applicants weeks or months to plan. If that doesn't pan out, a day-before lottery opens every day from 12:01 a.m. to 3 p.m., with winners notified by 4 p.m. — a genuinely usable backup rather than a token gesture. Fees are $6 per group to apply (non-refundable) and $3 per person if you're awarded a permit. Anyone who doesn't win either lottery can still hike to Scout Lookout, which is a rewarding, permit-free hike on its own.

The Wave / Coyote Buttes North (Vermilion Cliffs): Not a National Park at All

The Wave sits inside the Paria Canyon–Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness on the Arizona–Utah border, and it's worth flagging clearly: it's managed by the Bureau of Land Management, not the National Park Service, even though it's frequently lumped in with national park bucket-list hikes. It's included here because it uses the same recreation.gov infrastructure and the same lottery logic as NPS permits, and it's one of the hardest permits in the country to win.

The BLM caps Coyote Buttes North at 64 visitors a day, split between two lottery tracks on recreation.gov: an advanced lottery, entered up to four months ahead during a set calendar-month window, and a daily geofence lottery for people already in the area, which requires applying from a mobile device physically inside the designated zone in the days just before a visit. Both cost $7 per person per day if awarded, non-refundable and non-transferable either way. There's no standby line or walk-up option beyond the geofence lottery itself — if you're not physically nearby and don't win either draw, there's no alternate path in.

Mount Whitney (Inyo National Forest): A Third Agency, Same Platform

Mount Whitney is the tallest peak in the contiguous United States, and while it sits near Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, the mountain itself and its main trail fall under the U.S. Forest Service's Inyo National Forest, not the National Park Service. During its quota season, roughly May 1 through November 1, the Whitney Trail is capped at about 100 day hikers and 60 backpackers per day, enforced through a recreation.gov lottery.

The lottery application window runs February 1 through March 1, with results posted to your recreation.gov account by March 15. Winners have until April 21 to claim and pay the $15-per-person fee (non-refundable, non-transferable), and unclaimed dates open up for direct, first-come reservation starting April 22 — a real second chance worth watching for. Outside the May–November quota season, a permit is still required for the trail but isn't limited by the same lottery cap.

Whitney is a useful reminder that plenty of national park backcountry areas run their own permit systems too, separate from any headline lottery — wilderness and overnight permits at parks like Yosemite or Grand Teton are often first-come reservations on recreation.gov rather than a random draw. It's always worth checking a specific park's permit page directly before assuming a lottery is even required.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a timed-entry reservation and a hiking permit lottery?

A timed-entry reservation controls when you can enter a park or a specific zone within it — it's about general access. A hiking permit lottery, like Half Dome or Angels Landing, controls who can travel a specific trail or feature regardless of when they entered the park. Our timed-entry reservations guide covers the entry side in full.

How do I get a Half Dome permit if I miss the March preseason lottery?

Apply for the daily lottery, which opens every day at midnight and closes at 4 p.m. Pacific two days before your intended hiking date, with results posted the same night. It's a genuinely active backup, not a formality.

Do I need a permit to hike to Scout Lookout in Zion?

No. The Angels Landing permit only applies to the chain-assisted section past Scout Lookout. The approach trail up to Scout Lookout itself requires no permit and is open to anyone.

Is the Wave inside a national park?

No — the Wave, in Coyote Buttes North, is on Bureau of Land Management land within the Paria Canyon–Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, not inside any National Park Service unit, even though it's commonly mentioned alongside national park hikes.

What happens if I don't win a Mount Whitney permit in the lottery?

Watch for the unclaimed-permit release. Lottery winners must claim and pay by April 21, and any dates they don't claim open for direct, first-come reservation on recreation.gov starting April 22 — a real opportunity to grab a date that opened up.

Are permit lottery application fees refundable if I lose?

No, application fees are non-refundable across all four of these systems, whether or not you're selected. The larger per-person fee, charged only if you win, is sometimes refundable if you cancel with enough notice — check the specific permit's cancellation window before counting on that.