🎟️permit lotteries that are actually worth entering
Sources, not individual permit windows, those go stale. Half of this is real odds, half is a raffle dressed up as a lottery.
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2
Half Dome daily (2-day-out) lottery
Two days before your date, noon-4pm Pacific, for about half the day's cables permits. Better odds if your dates are flexible.
3
About 4% get through, and winning still doesn't guarantee a permit. start early on results day, it fills within the hour.
4
Core Zone odds sit around 2%. Apply for Colchuck or Snow zone too if you just want the basin, not summit bragging rights.
5
Doesn't matter when in February you apply, odds are identical all month. Tue-Thu dates beat weekends by a wide margin.
6
PCT long-distance permit
7
Grand Canyon backcountry permit (corridor campgrounds)
Not a lottery for most zones, but the popular Bright Angel windows fill within minutes of release. Set an alarm, not a reminder.
Or start a list of your own — free, it takes a minute.