Mt Whitney Zone Forums General Discussion Mt Whitney Lottery 2022

Moderator edit: Scroll down to see the lottery statistics.

The 2022 lottery just opened and I can navigate through most of the process but I can't pick any dates for overnights or day use. Everything is in "unavailable" status and not "lottery" as usual. Any insight on this?

I had the same problem on my desk top but was able to enter dates on my phone for some reason.

Good luck!

Same. Thanks! I switched from a desktop to laptop and there were no more issues. May the odds be ever in your favor.

So I just submitted my lottery application. I noticed you can select a different group size for every option. Is that new? I thought I remember not being able to do that in the past.

I kind of like it, but also worry it could lead to more unused permits. If people put in large groups for the first couple options on the off chance they can get a big group together, then whittle it down to just a couple they know they could use for later options, many spots could be taken by large groups that don't actually form when it comes time to hike.

People who entered the lottery were emailed their results today. We're seeing a few reports from people here.

Inyo National Forest reports that 99% of ALL slots open between May 1 and November 1 (the entire lottery season) were reserved through the lottery. There are only a tiny number of slots remaining, so they will not be put on sale on April 1. Instead, on May 1 they will become available along with all the "won but not paid for" slots.

Inyo National Forest staff has produced a document showing the results and statistics from the Whitney Lottery.

Here's the link.

In case that doc moves, I'll text from the pages:

2022 Mt Whitney Lottery

A record number of applications were submitted for this year's lottery.
Applications were accepted February 1 through March 15, 2022 on the Recreation.gov website

26,767 applications requesting trips for 115,209 people were submitted.

29% of Group Leaders were Awarded one of their requested dates
2,739 won Overnight
4,243 won Day Use
71% of applications were Unsuccessful
17,102 unsuccessful because dates requested were full when the application was processed.

2,256 applications were disqualified.
386 applications withdrawn by the group leader

Results are posted under the individuals account profile on Recreation.gov March 24th.

April 30 is the deadline for successful applicants to claim the date awarded by completing the reservation details and paying $15 per person reservation fee.

Any unclaimed dates will be released for reservations on May 1st.

graph here

Dates Fully Reserved
Day Use in the Mt Whitney Zone dates filled completely May 20 to October 10
    92% of the season filled by the lottery

Mt. Whitney Trail Overnight dates filled May 1 to October 20
   99% of the season filled by the lottery

What People Asked for - First Choice
37% of applications requested Day Use as the first choice
63% of applications requested the overnight permit as the first choice

First Weekend in August is Traditionally the Most Requested Date
55,140 people requested permits for Mt Whitney August 5-7 (Friday- Sunday)
    1% were successful

Where People are From
Number of Applications
    17,649 California
    8,939 Other States in USA
    179 International

Here are the graphs:

Welp, I'm one of the unlucky 71%. Hope to see you all in 2023!

I was lucky enough to secure 2 spots in the lottery but was curious as to how many available spots would be available at 7am PST when unclaimed spots were released today. Was shocked to see so many availabilities. Right at 7am PST could get absolutely any day you wanted in July and Aug. Now all those positions appeared to be gone by about 7:05am but good to know in future years. Also had no problem navigating to the recreation.gov page. I had read the site becomes unresponsive due to high volume but didn't see that at all.

Missed out on unclaimed spots and I'm looking for four permits. If anyone hears of any becoming available, please let me know, Thanks!

I set an alarm May 1st and was ready on the refresh button. Secured a day hike permit for June when the unused dates were released! Hope others were just as lucky. They sure went fast...

Feel fortunate that this is the 2nd year in a row able to obtain overnight permits late June via May 1st unclaimed lottery release after being denied in open lottery system Feb-Mar. Ironically, secured 2 permits for exact dates I was unsuccessful during main event. A bit stunned to see entire month of June light up green when I hit the refresh button at 7am - must have timed the refresh within hundredths of seconds when they released them. By 7:05am after completing the process went back and everything was gone for as many months I checked.

Now if they only open up Havasupai - these permits have roll over since 2020, will be hiking Havasupai and Whitney within a weeks time.

Happy trails.