John Muir Trail · Stage 3
Up Lyell Canyon, camping at least four trail miles beyond Tuolumne Meadows, and over Donohue Pass, 11,056 ft, out of Yosemite. The pass has a daily exit quota of 45 walkers on John Muir Trail permits.
Best season: July to September. Yosemite says most trails except the highest have little or no snow from early July until the first significant snow, typically in October, and the Pacific Crest Trail Association gives July to September for the whole trail. After a wet winter snow lingers on the passes into July and the creek fords run deep: on 16 June 2026 Forester Pass was snow to the top and Evolution Creek about three feet deep. Plan to cross the high passes by noon; afternoon thunderstorms peak mid to late afternoon. Before you go
Facts read from the guide's sources and OpenStreetMap on 24 September 2026. A page can change after we read it, so confirm with your accommodation before you rely on a date or a bed.
Stage start
Trailhead
Store, grill, post office and wilderness centre. The store and grill open about mid-June to late September; the post office holds general-delivery parcels (Tuolumne Meadows, CA 95389).
Tuolumne Meadows backpackers' campground · Camping spot
Season 2026: 2026: no exact dates published
Stage end
Trailhead
A section end on the mapped line; camp at the named places before or after it.
No walking time is published for this leg. Our estimate for the stage is 6 h 32, computed from the mapped line and its climbing.
Make it your trip
There are no huts: you carry a tent and camp under the wilderness rules, which change along the way. Designated campgrounds at Little Yosemite Valley, Sunrise and Tuolumne Meadows; no camping near the outlets of Thousand Island, Garnet, Duck and Purple Lakes, at Timberline Lake, or at Shadow Lake between the creek and the trail; one night per lake at Rae Lakes; two-night limits from Woods Creek to Vidette Meadow and at Crabtree and Guitar Lake.
The whole trail southbound in 20 days, a named camp every night, with a night at Tuolumne Meadows and one by Muir Trail Ranch for resupply.
Plan this journeyThree days through Yosemite by Sunrise and Cathedral Lakes.
Plan this journeyLoading the forecast for low point (2,639 m) and high point (3,371 m)…
Typical weather on this stage: at the lowest point (2,639 m) and the highest point (3,371 m). Select a month to see why it is rated as it is.
| Month | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weather | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Poor | Good | Good | Good | Mixed | Poor | Poor |
| High point, day / night | 0°/-13° | -1°/-14° | 0°/-12° | 2°/-10° | 5°/-6° | 10°/-2° | 17°/2° | 18°/3° | 16°/0° | 10°/-4° | 4°/-8° | 0°/-13° |
| Low point, day / night | 5°/-9° | 4°/-10° | 6°/-9° | 7°/-6° | 10°/-3° | 16°/1° | 22°/5° | 23°/6° | 20°/2° | 15°/-2° | 9°/-5° | 5°/-10° |
| Rain, mm | 129 | 102 | 87 | 56 | 32 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 18 | 42 | 82 | 127 |
| Snow at high point | Likely | Likely | Likely | Likely | Likely | Likely | Frost | – | Frost | Possible | Likely | Likely |
| Daylight | 9 h 49 | 10 h 47 | 11 h 53 | 13 h 08 | 14 h 11 | 14 h 46 | 14 h 33 | 13 h 40 | 12 h 29 | 11 h 17 | 10 h 10 | 9 h 34 |
Source: TerraClimate 1991–2020 monthly averages. Averages for the area at each point’s elevation (4 km grid, corrected for height). Not a forecast or a report of current trail conditions. Snow at the high point is estimated with a simple snowpack model from these temperatures and precipitation, not observed; steep islands and high summits can hold more snow than it shows. Daylight is for the 15th of each month. Hut, transport and park seasons are separate: check them for your dates.
Before you go
Arrange your stays, food and travel first, then check conditions again near departure.
A continuous southbound hike needs one Yosemite wilderness permit, and only two starts may exit over Donohue Pass: Happy Isles (15 walkers a day) and Lyell Canyon (30). 60% of each quota goes by weekly lottery 24 weeks ahead, the rest opens on Recreation.gov seven days before the start. Fees: $10 to apply, $5 a person when you accept. Collect the permit in person the day before or by 11:00 on the day. Yosemite says up to 90% of requests are refused on popular days. The 2027 lottery calendar was not published on 24 September 2026.
Yosemite: wilderness permit datesAn approved canister is required in all of Yosemite's wilderness (hanging food is not allowed), on the Inyo stretch from the Yosemite boundary to Lake Virginia, from Bishop Pass down to Le Conte Canyon, from Pinchot Pass to Forester Pass by Rae Lakes, and on the Whitney Trail. Yosemite's permit stations rent them.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon: canister areasTuolumne Meadows: a store and grill from about mid-June to late September, and the post office holds general-delivery parcels. Red's Meadow Resort closed for the 2026 season. Vermilion Valley Resort: its ferry did not run in 2026 and its last pickup was 30 September. Muir Trail Ranch: bucket pickups from 15 June to 1 October 2026 for $115, arriving at least three weeks ahead; fuel but no food for sale.
Muir Trail Ranch: resupplyCampfires are banned above 9,600 ft in Yosemite and above 10,000 ft in Kings Canyon, and in September 2026 the Inyo National Forest's Stage 1 fire restrictions banned campfires. In September 2026 the Dome Fire closed the Glacier Point Road and trails south of it; the John Muir Trail was not in the closure, but smoke can reach the valley.
Yosemite: current conditionsSequoia and Kings Canyon ask you to bury human waste 6 inches deep, 100 ft from trails, camps and water; on the Whitney Trail the Inyo National Forest expects everyone to pack solid waste out, with kits at the Lone Pine visitor centre and the trailhead. Ask the park which rule applies at Guitar Lake.
Sequoia and Kings Canyon: minimum impactGetting there
Travel around Tuolumne Meadows to 1.6 km past Donohue Pass.
Google Maps journey searches, not confirmed services. A mountain endpoint may need a booked transfer or an additional walk.
YARTS buses reach Yosemite Valley from Merced all year (the summer timetable ran 22 May to 30 September 2026), and in summer from Mammoth Lakes over Tioga Pass by Tuolumne Meadows (1 July to 30 September 2026). Backpackers park near Curry Village, about half a mile from Happy Isles.
YARTS: Highway 395 and 120The Reds Meadow shuttle from Mammoth Lakes is mandatory when it runs; its autumn 2026 schedule runs from 20 September to 11 October, weather and road permitting. Eastern Sierra Transit runs along Highway 395 from Mammoth Lakes to Lancaster and from Lone Pine to Reno.
Eastern Sierra Transit: Reds Meadow shuttleWhitney Portal is 13 miles above Lone Pine by road, with no public transport; arrange a ride. From Lone Pine, Eastern Sierra Transit runs north along Highway 395.
Inyo National Forest: Whitney PortalTake your trip with you
Prepare every section while you still have a connection, and test it offline before you set out: there is no signal on almost all of the trail.
Keep your route and maps on your phone for places without a signal. For multi-day trips, prepare them in the installed TrailSplits app.
Saving a bookmark is not a map download. Storage can be cleared by your device; keep a backup map for remote trips.
Route & sources
Yosemite gives the John Muir Trail as 211 miles, about 340 km, from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mount Whitney; most walkers go southbound. The line here follows the route on OpenStreetMap, 336 km, cut into 17 sections by distance. The plans end each day at a named camp where camping is allowed, with its rules; the section ends between them are not nights. Between Thousand Island Lake and Reds Meadow (27 km) and between Silver Pass Lake and Marie Lake (29 km) no camp is listed here, though walkers camp along both stretches under the wilderness rules. The trail ends on the summit: the nearest road, Whitney Portal, is 10.7 miles (17 km) down the Whitney Trail, which the plans do not include.
Official guidance and mapped-source comparison checked 24 September 2026. Map data is a route reference, not confirmation of today's path, weather or accommodation availability.
Yosemite National Park: John Muir TrailMap data © OpenStreetMap contributors · Source relation