Half Dome: Your guide to Yosemite's most demanding day hike
Half Dome Trail Map / Satellite View
Hike Distance: 14.2 miles (22.7 km) round trip via Mist Trail
16.5 miles (26.5 km) round trip via John Muir Trail
20 miles (32 km) round trip via Glacier Point
23 miles (37) km round trip via
Tenaya Lake
7 miles (11 km) round trip from Little Yosemite Valley campground
Half Dome Elevation: 8,842 feet (2,650 meters)
Total Elevation Gain: 4,800 feet (1,600 meters) from Yosemite Valley
Hiking Time: 10 - 14 hours
Why climb the trail to Half Dome? Half Dome is the ultimate Yosemite day hike - the one you can't die without doing, and the one you're most likely to die while doing.
It's got 900 feet (300 meters) worth of spectacular waterfalls at the bottom if you take the Mist Trail route; bigger-than-life panoramic vistas at the top; and a knee-knocking, hand-clamming cable ascent that will test your courage, your strength, and the tread on your shoes.
Crowd Factor: High; there can be waits of half an hour or more at the base of the cables on summer weekends. Like just about any hike starting from Yosemite Valley, do it on a weekday if you can, or beat the crowds by spending the night before in Little Yosemite Valley.
Scenery Factor: Unsurpassed.
Sundry Half Dome Goodies
 The Hazards of Half Dome 10 Tips for surviving the cable ascent |
 Half Dome Photo Gallery All the views with none of the terror |
 Trail Map It's good to know where you're going |
Difficulty: Extreme. It's long, steep at the beginning and end, and more dangerous than most Yosemite hikes. It's probably the most difficult of all Yosemite day hikes. On the traditional 1 to 10 scale, this one rates an 11.
Insanity Factor: 9 out of 10. Wait 'til you get to the cables, and you'll see what we mean.
Best Time to Visit: You can't climb Half Dome unless the cables are up, which is generally from mid-May or early June through Columbus Day weekend in October. Any day when the cables are up will serve, although we recommend weekdays over weekends, and - we can't emphasize this strongly enough - a day when there are no thunderclouds in the area. Since you're likely to choose the route that takes you up the Mist Trail at the beginning of the hike, note that the Mist Trail's waterfalls are more spectacular the earlier in the year you go.
Bathrooms: Across the bridge below Vernal Falls (with plumbing and running water), near the Emerald Pool above Vernal Falls (outhouse style), above Nevada Falls (outhouse), and at Little Yosemite Valley campground (requires a short detour from the trail).
Nearest Snacks: at Happy Isles, just over half a mile (0.8 km) from the trailhead, and at Curry Village, three quarters of a mile (1.2 km) from the trailhead. Neither are open at 6 a.m., though, which is about when you'll want to start your hike.
There's also potable water just across the bridge below Vernal Fall, 0.8 miles (1.2 km) up the trail.
Driving Directions: The trailhead is at the east end of Yosemite Valley, to which almost all roads in Yosemite lead. From 140, just stay on the road until you're in Yosemite Valley; from the north (Big Oak Flat) entrance, do the same; from the Tioga Road, go west until it terminates at Big Oak Flat Road, then turn left and follow Big Oak Flat Road to the valley; from the south entrance, take highway 41 (which you're already on) all the way to the valley.
Once you've reached Yosemite Valley, keep an eye out for signs to Curry Village and head in their general direction. Once you've reached the Curry Village vicinity of the valley, you should start spotting signs for trailhead parking. Follow them to the trailhead lot or park at Curry Village.
If you're taking the Glacier Point route, take highway 41 to Glacier Point Road and then take Glacier Point Road to its eastern terminus at, appropriately enough, Glacier Point.
Parking: Your closest option is the trailhead parking lot. It's just past Curry Village, on a road that's marked "Service Vehicles Only". However, your private car is apparently allowed to enter this road to perform the service of getting you to the trailhead parking lot. The trailhead lot has a few dozen bear-proof storage lockers in which you can store all the scented stuff you don't want to haul up the trail with you. They tend to fill up early, though.
If the trailhead lot is full, you can park at Curry Village, which you'll find near the east end of Southside Drive. As you head east into Yosemite Valley, you'll find road signs pointing the way.
If you're taking the long route from Glacier Point, park in the Glacier Point parking lot and take the Panorama Trail, which will intersect with the main Half Dome route just above Nevada Fall.
More Half Dome Questions We Hear a Lot
- How many people have died on Half Dome?
- Is the cable route open right now? When is it usually open?
- Can I climb/hike Half Dome when the cables are down?
- Which route should I take?
- Where should I stay the night before I climb Half Dome?
- What's Little Yosemite Valley? Do I need a wilderness permit or a reservation to stay there?
- Can I camp on Half Dome?
How many people have died on Half Dome?
There have been more than 20 deaths on Half Dome itself, and if you count the trail leading up to Half Dome, the number leaps to more than 60.
People have died on Half Dome from a variety of causes: falling off the cable route, heart attacks while climbing the cables, lightning strikes, failed base jumps, climbing accidents, and even a few suicides. Most recently, a climber fell off the cables and died on June 16 of 2007. The cable route is extremely dangerous; please don't do it unless you're well prepared. These tips on surviving the cable ascent are a good starting point.
Deaths on the trail to Half Dome, rather than on Half Dome itself, are usually above Nevada or Vernal Falls, and usually occur when someone wades into the the water above the falls or slips off rocks into the water and gets swept away. In many cases, their bodies have never been found.
For more information, check out the macabre but remarkable Off the Wall: Death in Yosemite (hardcover / paperback), which chronicles every unnatural death in the park from its inception until the book went to press in early 2007; and Shattered Air, an account of the lightning deaths on Half Dome on July 27, 1985.
Is the cable route open right now? When is it usually open?
The cable route is now open for the summer of 2008. You can usually check the cable status at the NPS general conditions page or, if it's not listed there, at the NPS trail conditions page (it appears that the latter page may not get updated as frequently as the former). The cables typically go up sometime in May and come down after Columbus Day weekend in October.
Can I climb/hike Half Dome when the cables are down?
There won't be a ranger at the base of the cable route to stop you from going. But we recommend strongly against it. When the cables come down, they're not actually removed from the mountain. The poles that hold them up at waist level for handy gripping are removed from their sockets, and the cables lie flat (although "nearly vertical" would probably be more descriptive than "flat") against the side of Half Dome for the winter. The cable route is difficult and dangerous when the cables are up, and doubly so when they're down. A hiker died attempting to climb Half Dome with the cables down in the fall of 2006, and another fell and died in April of 2007. It makes us nervous just to think about somebody doing this, so if only for our sake: please don't try.
Which route should I take?
The three main routes converge at the top of Nevada Falls, so unless you're coming from Tenaya Lake or the Little Yosemite Valley campground, it's really a question of which route you want to take for the first third or so of the hike.
The Mist Trail route is the shortest and most scenic, and our personal favorite. The Muir Trail route is about 1.5 miles (2.4 km) longer each way, but less steep, and might be a better choice if you've got balky knees. The Muir Trail route starts from the same trailhead as the Mist Trail, departs from it almost a mile into the hike (just after you cross the bridge that gives you your first glimpse of Vernal Falls - the turnoff is well marked), and rejoins it again at the top of Nevada Falls.
The Glacier Point route has less climbing than the previous two routes, but, due to its length, is probably still more difficult. It also means you'll be ending your very long day with a couple miles of uphill switchbacks as you climb to Glacier Point from Illilouette Falls, a prospect you're likely to regret.
Hiking Half Dome from Tenaya Lake in one day isn't a realistic option unless you're in marathon-caliber condition, but hiking in from Tenaya Lake is a possibility if you're staying in the Little Yosemite Valley campground the night before you climb Half Dome. It's 11 miles (18 km) from Tenaya Lake to the Little Yosemite Valley campground.
Where should I stay the night before I climb Half Dome?
Last call at the Ahwahnee Bar is 11 p.m., so you'll need shelter someplace. Where depends on two factors: how many miles you're willing to hike on the day you climb Half Dome and how long a drive you'll endure to get to the Half Dome trailhead.
If you want to cut your mileage down on the day you climb Half Dome, spend the night in the Little Yosemite Valley campground, a mile beyond the top of Nevada Fall. This way you won't have to climb the Mist Trail the morning of your hike - a savings of about 4 miles (6.5 km) one way. You'll be a couple hours ahead of the midday hordes of Half Dome hikers, and you'll get to the cables before it gets too crowded.
However, this is a backpackers-only campground with no road access, which means that you'll need to pack all your camping gear up the Mist Trail the day before: tent, sleeping bags, food, cooking gear, framed Ansel Adams prints, manicure kit, etc. And unless you can stay two nights, you'll have to pack up and haul it all down the Mist Trail after climbing Half Dome. If you're out of shape, staying in Little Yosemite Valley Campground probably won't help you much unless you can convince someone else to carry your pack for you; the best reason to stay here is to beat the crowds up Half Dome.
If you're not a backpacker and you can't be trusted behind the wheel before 6 a.m., get reservations (well ahead of time, we should emphasize) in Yosemite Valley. Anywhere in the valley will mean a short drive to the trailhead - less than 5 miles (8 km) in all cases. Staying in El Portal isn't bad, either; it'll give you a 15-20 minute drive. If you're a morning person (and by the way, we don't want to hear what a beautiful sunrise it was), you've got no worries. Anywhere in Yosemite except the eastern end of Tioga Road will get you to the valley in less than an hour, and you won't be hitting any traffic jams at the time you'll be driving. We've had friends leave from Oakhurst and be on the trail inside an hour and a half.
This all assumes that you're starting from the Yosemite Valley trailhead. If you're taking the longer route from Glacier Point, your closest overnight option (and the only one on Glacier Point Road) is the Bridalveil Creek Campground, 8 miles (13 km) from the trailhead.
What's Little Yosemite Valley? Do I need a wilderness permit or a reservation to stay there?
Little Yosemite Valley lies upstream from Nevada Fall, at an elevation of 6,100 feet (1,860 meters). The hike-in campground here is 4.5 miles (7 km) from the trailhead in Yosemite Valley and about 2.5 miles (4 km) from the summit of Half Dome. 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. 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 7:30 a.m., and typically a line forms there well before the office opens. If you're trying to get one of the 40% of permits handed out at the last minute, we recommend getting in line early in the morning the day before you want to head up to Little Yosemite Valley.
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 209-372-0740. You can get permits for groups of up to 15 people. You'll have to pay a $5 fee if your reservation is confimed.
The park service limits permits to 30 people per day from the Happy Isles/Yosemite Valley trailhead, 10 people per day from the Glacier Point trailhead, and 20 per day from the Tenaya/Sunrise Lakes area. 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.
We should mention that 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 last section of the hike packing a tent, sleeping bag, and other creature comforts on your back - it's about 4.5 miles (7 km) from Yosemite Valley to the Little Yosemite Valley campground, with more than 2,000 feet (600 meters) of climbing. 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.
Can I camp on Half Dome?
Nope. On your way up the trail you'll find this sign explaining why not.
