The John Muir Trail Permit Guide

Why You Need a Permit

The JMT passes through Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon National Park, and Sequoia National Park. The Yosemite section is the bottleneck: only 45 permits per day exit over Donohue Pass. This creates extreme demand and a 2% success rate for Happy Isles permits. Alternative entry points give you a genuine path to thru-hiking the JMT. Every Yosemite trailhead permit runs through the Yosemite Wilderness permit lottery system — start there if your route begins inside the park.

You don't have to start at Happy Isles or Whitney Portal. This guide covers 16 alternative entry points that give you a legitimate shot at hiking the JMT, with better permit odds.

How to Actually Get This Permit

The JMT uses two parallel systems depending on your entry point. Yosemite trailheads (Happy Isles, Glacier Point, Sunrise Lakes, Tuolumne Meadows, Lyell Canyon) run through the Yosemite Wilderness lottery and 6-month advance reservations on Recreation.gov. Happy Isles and Lyell Canyon are the two Donohue Pass-eligible starts — same exit, very different quotas and opening miles. Our Yosemite Wilderness trailhead guide compares them side by side. Inyo National Forest trailheads (Whitney Portal, Kearsarge Pass, Cottonwood Pass, and others) use separate quotas with generally higher availability.

SOBO hikers who want a Half Dome side trip without the day-hiker lottery should choose a Half Dome-eligible Yosemite trailhead and request the add-on at permit pickup — covered in our Half Dome backpacking permit guide.

For Yosemite lottery winners, unclaimed permits drop back into the system on a rolling release window, roughly 22 weeks before your start date. Set a calendar reminder and check Recreation.gov at 7:00 AM Pacific when release windows open. The same timing applies to walk-up-style online releases: be logged in, know your target date, and go straight to it. Browsing the calendar costs seconds you don't have.

Cancellation patterns vary by entry point and season. Midweek September and October dates see the most turnover on Yosemite permits. Inyo NF entries have their own cancellation rhythms. We're tracking release data and will update this section as patterns firm up.

Finishing at Whitney Portal? The southern terminus has its own lottery and April release window — see the Whitney permit lottery for exit logistics, overnight vs day-hike permits, and cancellation strategy.

Gear You Actually Need

Three weeks on the JMT is a different gear problem than a weekend in the Sierra. Pack for altitude, bear country, and long resupply gaps.

• Bear canister - required in Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia wilderness areas. Non-negotiable.
• Water filter or purification - giardia is real; plan filter stops at reliable sources marked on your map.
• Microspikes or crampons - essential April through June when high passes still hold snow (Forrester, Mather, Pinchot, Glen Pass).
• Layers and sun protection - UV above treeline is severe; temperature swings from Portal to pass are dramatic.
• Lightweight shelter and sleep system - rated for nights at 10,000+ feet even in summer.