Hikeset Beta
October 26, 2026 update: This guide now covers 2027. The Whitney Portal lottery keeps its usual calendar: applications open February 1 and close March 1, results post March 15, and winners must claim by April 21 at 9 PM PT. The 2027 dates cover Yosemite, Inyo, and the west side too.
Last updated: October 26, 2026
2026 permits sold out faster than ever, and applications for peak summer dates rose about 15%. If you want a 2027 JMT permit, apply to more than one system. Here's how JMT permits work, when each one opens, and what to try if you lose.
How JMT permits work
High alpine meadow along the John Muir Trail
One permit covers the whole trail. It's issued for the trailhead and date you start, and it carries you through Yosemite, Inyo National Forest, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia. You don't need a new permit each night or at each park boundary. Two rules decide which permit you need.
Donohue Pass: the southbound rule
Heading south, the JMT leaves Yosemite over Donohue Pass, and only two Yosemite quotas include that exit:
- Happy Isles → Past Little Yosemite Valley: 20 permits a day
- Lyell Canyon: 25 permits a day
Those 45 permits a day are the only way onto the JMT southbound from Yosemite, which is why hikers call them "golden tickets." A permit from any other Yosemite trailhead (Half Dome, Sunrise Lakes, Cathedral Lakes) keeps you inside the park. On Recreation.gov, look for "Donohue Pass eligible" in the permit description. Northbound hikers don't need it.
Whitney Portal exit: a separate quota
If you start from an Inyo trailhead and want to finish down the Whitney Trail, your permit needs a Whitney Portal exit, which comes from a smaller quota. If you're flexible, summit Whitney, go back down to Crabtree Meadow, and exit via Cottonwood Lakes instead.
Your campsite list
The application asks for a campsite every night, but rangers only hold you to the first one:
- Happy Isles: beyond Little Yosemite Valley
- Lyell Canyon: at least 4 miles from the trailhead
- Other trailheads: check the trailhead description
After that, camp wherever works under normal wilderness rules. Plans change on trail, and rangers know it.
Picking up your permit
Yosemite permits are picked up in person at a Wilderness Center, the day before or the morning you start. Inyo and Whitney Portal permits can be printed or kept on your phone. Carry your permit and a photo ID.
Resupply stops
Your permit covers short side trips to resupply at Reds Meadow, Vermilion Valley Resort, or Muir Trail Ranch: walk out, pick up your bucket, and walk back in at the same spot. Getting in a car to go to town ends your trip. VVR's ferry across Edison Lake didn't run in 2026, so check VVR's ferry page before you count on it in 2027. (RIP Captain Paint, the VVR ferry captain so many JMT hikers knew, who died in August 2025 after getting his last boatload of hikers safely to shore.) The JMT Resupply Guide has mailing addresses and fees for each stop.
2027 important dates
Miss a window and you wait a week (Yosemite) or a full year (Whitney) for the next one.
Whitney Portal: one lottery a year
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| February 1, 2027 | Applications open (12:01 AM PT) |
| March 1, 2027 | Applications close (11:59 PM PT) |
| March 15, 2027 | Results emailed |
| April 21, 2027 | Claim deadline (9 PM PT) |
It covers every trip starting May 1 through November 1, 2027.
Yosemite: a lottery every week
Each Sunday-to-Saturday week of start dates has its own lottery. It opens on a Sunday about 25 weeks ahead and closes that Saturday at 11:59 PM PT. Results come the next Monday, and winners accept by Thursday.
| Target start date | Lottery week | Applications open | Applications close |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 1, 2027 | Jun 27 to Jul 3 | Sun, Jan 3 | Sat, Jan 9 |
| July 15, 2027 | Jul 11 to Jul 17 | Sun, Jan 17 | Sat, Jan 23 |
| August 1, 2027 | Aug 1 to Aug 7 | Sun, Feb 7 | Sat, Feb 13 |
| August 15, 2027 | Aug 15 to Aug 21 | Sun, Feb 21 | Sat, Feb 27 |
| September 1, 2027 | Aug 29 to Sep 4 | Sun, Mar 7 | Sat, Mar 13 |
| September 15, 2027 | Sep 12 to Sep 18 | Sun, Mar 21 | Sat, Mar 27 |
Permits nobody claims go up for first-come reservation the Friday after the accept-by date. The other 40% of the quota releases online 7 days before each start date at 7 AM PT.
Inyo National Forest: no lottery
60% of each day's quota opens at 7 AM PT exactly 6 months before the start date, so a July 1 start opens January 1. The other 40% opens 2 weeks before, which makes it the best bet for last-minute trips.
West side and Roads End
Sierra National Forest trailheads on the west side (Florence Lake, Mono Creek by VVR, Bear Creek) work like Inyo: 60% of the quota opens 6 months ahead and the rest 2 weeks ahead, all year. Roads End in Kings Canyon takes reservations up to 6 months ahead at 7 AM PT, for starts from late May to late September.
Which permit fits you
Your options
| Permit | When you apply | Cost (solo) | 2026 odds | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yosemite (southbound) | Weekly lottery, ~24 weeks out | $15 | ~30% peak, ~60% shoulder | The traditional route |
| Whitney Portal (northbound) | February 1 to March 1 | $21 | ~40% | One application |
| Inyo trailheads | 6 months or 2 weeks out | $10-20 | ~75% shoulder | Flexible hikers and groups |
| Yosemite walk-up | 7 days before, 7 AM PT | $5 | ~20% peak, ~50% shoulder | Last-minute solo hikers and pairs |
Yosemite charges a $10 application fee plus $5 per person if you win, Whitney Portal $6 plus $15 per person, and Inyo no application fee and $5-15 per person.
- Solo or pair: apply for everything. Enter the Whitney lottery and several Yosemite weeks, line up an Inyo trailhead as backup, then try walk-ups. Small groups have the best odds everywhere.
- Groups of 4 or more: make Whitney your main application, since there's one window to coordinate, and have each member enter. Pick 2-3 Inyo trailheads as backup. Cottonwood Pass handles bigger groups well. Skip walk-ups.
- Your first JMT: enter both lotteries and stay open on direction, which roughly doubles your chances. Shoulder season dates have better odds, and September is often a better month on trail than July anyway.
- On a budget: focus on Inyo. There's no application fee and the permits are cheaper.
- New backpackers and scout groups: an Inyo permit in September and a shorter section, like Kearsarge to Whitney (6-8 days).
What 2026 showed
Shoulder season on the JMT, when 2026 walk-up odds were best
| Group size | Lottery | Walk-up | Inyo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | 35% | 25% | 80% |
| 2 people | 32% | 22% | 75% |
| 3-4 people | 25% | 10% | 65% |
| 5-8 people | 18% | <5% | 50% |
| 9+ people | 12% | Nearly 0% | 35% |
- Smaller groups win. The odds fall off quickly above 4 people, so a big group should lean on Inyo or split into smaller permit groups.
- Start midweek. Tuesday-to-Thursday walk-up starts worked about 30% of the time in peak season, against about 15% for weekends.
- Go in the shoulder season. Walk-ups worked about 50% of the time in late September and 65% in early October. Late July and early August had the best lottery odds, after snowmelt and before the Labor Day rush.
- Apply any time in the window. Both lotteries draw at random, so a first-day application has the same odds as a last-day one. Just don't leave Yosemite's until Saturday night.
- Pick a quieter trailhead. Piute Pass and Pine Creek (Inyo) and Bear Creek (west side) usually had room. Cottonwood Pass ran about 60% and Bishop Pass about 50%. Onion Valley, the Kearsarge trailhead, is now about as competitive as Yosemite.
How to apply
First: create a Recreation.gov account, verify your email, and save a payment method. You won't have time to add one during a walk-up attempt. Lottery results and confirmations all go to that email.
Whitney Portal lottery (February 1 to March 1). Apply at the Whitney Portal Lottery with your entry date, estimated exit, exact group size, and Whitney Portal as the entry point. Your exit can be somewhere else, like Yosemite. List several alternate start dates, since each one is another chance in the draw.
Yosemite lottery (about 24 weeks before your start week). From Yosemite Wilderness Permits, apply for Happy Isles or Lyell Canyon with Donohue Pass as the destination, during your week's Sunday-to-Saturday window. Check your spam folder for the results on Monday.
Inyo and west-side reservations. Be logged into Recreation.gov before 7 AM PT on release day, 6 months before your start date, and reserve your trailhead. There's no lottery, so you're confirmed right away.
Walk-up permits (7 days before). Log in by 6:55 AM PT, open the trailhead page at 6:59, and at 7:00 pick your date and pay. In peak season they're gone in 2-5 minutes, so use a laptop on fast internet. If your date is gone, keep refreshing for a few minutes: permits reappear when someone's payment fails.
If you win, accept before the deadline (Whitney by April 21, Yosemite by the Thursday after results), pay the $5-15 per person permit fee, and keep the confirmation. If you don't, try another Yosemite week, reserve an Inyo or west-side permit, try walk-ups, or watch for cancellations. Services like PermitSnag and PermitScout check every few minutes and notify you when something opens up.
Backup plans
Section hike it. Permits for shorter pieces are easier to get, and you still walk all 211 miles eventually. How to section hike the JMT lists every entry and exit trailhead by section, with ways to split the trail into two or three trips.
Typical high Sierra terrain
Hike a nearby route:
- High Sierra Trail (72 mi, 6-8 days): Crescent Meadow to Whitney Portal, meeting the JMT at Wallace Creek. About 40-50% odds in the lottery.
- Rae Lakes Loop (42 mi, 4-5 days): a loop from Roads End over Glen Pass. About 60-70% in the reservation window.
- Evolution Loop (37 mi, 4-5 days): from South Lake over Muir Pass through Evolution Valley. About 50-60% in the reservation window.
FAQ
Should I go NOBO or SOBO?
Southbound (Yosemite to Whitney) is the traditional direction and finishes on Mt. Whitney, but it needs Yosemite's harder lottery and it's more crowded. Northbound uses Whitney's single annual lottery, puts the big climb on fresh legs, and is quieter. The total elevation gain is about the same, so choose based on which permit you can get.
What's the best JMT trailhead for beginners?
Cottonwood Pass, heading north. It's a gentler first climb than Whitney Portal, the permit is easier to get than Yosemite's, and you can shorten the trip by exiting at Kearsarge.
What's the maximum group size?
15 people at every JMT trailhead. Bigger groups have to split into separate parties with separate permits, starting on different days or from different trailheads.
Can I start the JMT without a permit?
No. Every JMT trailhead requires a wilderness permit. Without one you risk a fine and being turned back by a ranger, and you take a spot from someone who waited for theirs.
Official permit pages
- Recreation.gov, where every JMT permit is booked
- Yosemite Wilderness Permits
- Whitney Portal Lottery
- Inyo National Forest Permits
- Sierra National Forest Permits
- Sequoia & Kings Canyon Wilderness Permits
Get to know the trail before you apply
The interactive JMT map shows campsites, water sources, resupply stops, and a day-by-day mileage estimator, so you can pick the right trailheads and dates. You don't need an account.
Planning gear with a group?
Hikeset lets you split shared gear, track pack weight, and build a pack list together, so nobody ends up carrying two stoves.
Compiled from Recreation.gov, National Park Service, and USDA Forest Service information, plus hiker reports from the 2026 season. Permit rules change, so always check the official sites before you plan your trip.
Published: April 12, 2026