The traditional way to hike the John Muir Trail (JMT) is to hike southbound (SOBO) starting in Yosemite National Park at the Happy Isles Trailhead and continuing on to the summit of Mount Whitney. In recent years, the demand for JMT permits has gone up and Yosemite has put a limit on the number of JMT permits they are issuing for hikes starting in the park. There’s a few alternative ways to get permits and hike the trail, one of the most popular is by hiking NOBO from the southern terminus and ending in Yosemite.
On this page we’ll tell you how to get a NOBO permit if you’re starting at one of the popular southern trailheads. If you’re looking for information on how to get a more traditional SOBO JMT permit then check out this page on our website that tells you everything you need to know.