Half Dome
Schematic Happy Isles to the Half Dome summit. Not a GPS track. Cited round trip about 24 km is editorial. DEM high 2,646 m governs; the cables are a landmark, not this line.
Saved on this device only. Nothing is sent to an account or a payment service.
Distance 24 km provisional (round figure) · Ascent provisional (DEM sample) · High point provisional (DEM sample) · 1d · SAC T3 · Ungraded (schematic ingest)
Cite this record
The Hiking World, Half Dome, read 2026-10-15, https://www.thehikingworld.com/trails/half-dome
How we verify · last checked 2026-10-15
Byline
- The Hiking World editorial team · author
Figures marked provisional are seed data and still need verification. Source and last-checked date sit under each cited value.
Forecast at page generation, 2026-11-07T14:20:33.898Z
Representative point on Half Dome: 37.746°, -119.533°, about 2646 m. A forecast, not a trail-surface reading.
At generation: 5°C, Clear.
- 2026-11-07 Overcast, 4–10°C
- 2026-11-08 Overcast, 3–11°C
- 2026-11-09 Overcast, 1–11°C
Source Open-Meteo. Mountain weather changes with elevation and aspect.
Official alerts
Checked 2026-09-10 against US National Park Service. No closure is in the stored alert list for this check.
Source: US National Park Service
No active NPS alerts for the park units on this route (last checked 2026-09-10).
US National Park Service is the authority — check nps.gov before you go. This desk is not the authority.
Yosemite National Park NPS alerts. Park-wide notices are labelled park-wide, never upgraded to a trail closure.
Life-safety notices on this page come from the issuer.
Sourced record
Verified and reported stay in separate blocks. A section with no source is left out. How we verify.
Permits and fees are shown once, from the permit record.
Altitude weather delta
High 2,646 m minus low 1,239 m is 1,407 m of relief on this record. A standard tropospheric lapse of 6.5 °C per 1,000 m implies about 9.1 °C cooler at the high point than the valley, all else equal.
That is a model (International Standard Atmosphere environmental lapse), not a forecast and not a trail-closure. Wind, snow, and storms stay in Hazards.
derived:lapse-rate · read 2026-09-10 · provisionalISA 6.5 °C / 1,000 m · wikipedia.org · 2026-09-10
Map loads when this section is on screen.
GeoJSONThis line is a schematic. The files are not a GPS track. GPX · GeoJSON
Cumulative ascent not published — stored line geometry is too coarse for a reliable DEM figure.
Catalog entry
- SAC T3
- Demanding mountain hiking. Exposed sections possible; hands may be needed for balance.
- YDS Class 2
- Class 2. Simple scrambling, occasional use of hands.
Where the walking ends
This record covers the walk to base of the cables (Sub Dome). Beyond that, the continuation is scramble, which we do not map as a trail — it needs a permit-only cable scramble we do not map as walking.
Source: nps.gov · checked 2026-09-17
We have not verified the technical section. Where hiking ends · Walk-up & trekker summits
Stored distance is 24 km. The chart axis follows the DEM sample (2.89 km), not the published line length.
OpenStreetMap pins only (ODbL): Happy Isles node 358795523, Half Dome summit node 4338669222 (Wikidata Q925252). No single route relation. Return is not doubled.
Cited round trip about 24 km (~14–16 mi) is editorial. Pin spacing is not that walk.
DEM high 2,646 m. OSM ele 2,694 m / 8,839 ft is a landmark and does not replace the DEM. The cables are a landmark note, not geometry. Ascent is high minus low. Stored one-way descent is 0.
Water
No water sources recorded.
Permits & fees
Conditions, fees and rules change. Confirm with the issuer and local authorities before you go. This is a reference, not a substitute for local advice. Terms
- Permit
- Half Dome day permit
- Booking
- required
- Issuer
- National Park Service (NPS) — Yosemite National Park
Permits and fees for this year · Permit cost
Permits and fees
We are not the issuer. Fees and rules change — confirm with the issuer before you pay. Issuer page.
Quota / restriction: Day-hike permit. Issued via Recreation.gov. Page updated June 3, 2025.
| Permit | Cost | Quota / restriction | Issuer | Source | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Half Dome day-hike application feeVerified | USD 10 per application | Day-hike permit. Issued via Recreation.gov. Page updated June 3, 2025. | NPS — Yosemite NP (via Recreation.gov) | Issuer page | Verified 2026-10-15 vs NPS — Yosemite NP (via Recreation.gov) |
| Half Dome day-hike awarded feeVerified | USD 10 per person when awarded | Day-hike permit. Issued via Recreation.gov. Page updated June 3, 2025. | NPS — Yosemite NP (via Recreation.gov) | Issuer page | Verified 2026-10-15 vs NPS — Yosemite NP (via Recreation.gov) |
Hazards
- Cables section is a landmark note, not drawn on this two-pin line.
Getting there
No sourced gateway chain yet.
Getting there car-free
- Happy Isles: car-free flag unknown.
- Half Dome summit: car-free flag unknown.
Trailheads
- Happy Isles car-free: unknown
- Half Dome summit car-free: unknown
Questions
Do I need a permit for Half Dome?
A permit is listed as required for Half Dome: Half Dome day permit. Status: Verified.
How much is the Half Dome permit?
Half Dome day-hike application fee: USD 10 per application (NPS — Yosemite NP (via Recreation.gov), verified 2026-10-15). Status: Verified. Half Dome day-hike awarded fee: USD 10 per person when awarded (NPS — Yosemite NP (via Recreation.gov), verified 2026-10-15). Status: Verified.
Half Dome permit quota and booking
Day-hike permit. Issued via Recreation.gov. Page updated June 3, 2025.
How difficult is Half Dome?
Half Dome is graded SAC T3 · YDS 2. A sourced hazard on this record: Cables section is a landmark note, not drawn on this two-pin line.
How long is Half Dome?
This figure is 24 km (provisional): a schematic straight-line estimate between waypoints — not a measured walking distance; published figures are the better guide. See /guides/how-long-is-the-trail
Related trails
- John Muir Trail · Sierra Nevada
- The Enchantments · United States
Featured in
- Permit & season calendar
- Permit lotteries: Whitney, Half Dome, JMT, Inca & more
- Difficulty scales and surface
- Seasonality on the catalog
- Water sources on the catalog
- How permit systems work
- How to read an elevation profile
- Car-free and transit access
- Government fees and operator markup
- Walk-up & trekker summits