Best Hikes in Yosemite

With a nice selection of rewarding hikes ranging in length and difficulty, Yosemite satisfies the hiker in everyone.

Panorama Trail

Make reservations in advance for a one-way ticket on the morning tour bus from Yosemite Lodge at the Falls to Glacier Point. After the bus drops you off, hike the Panorama Trail and Mist Trail back down to Yosemite Valley. The 8.5-mile one-way hike is mostly downhill, but it’s not easy. Your knees will get a workout with 3,200 feet of descent along the way, plus one uphill stretch that gains 760 feet over 1.5 miles. The scenery makes it all worthwhile. You’ll hike past three major waterfalls—Illilouette, Nevada, and Vernal—and walk through miles of postcard-quality Sierra scenery.

Cathedral Lakes

Head up to Tuolumne Meadows and take the classic high-country hike to Cathedral Lakes. This 7.4-mile round-trip has a 1,000-foot elevation gain on the way to two glacial cirque lakes, which are set below 10,840-foot Cathedral Peak. Don’t forget your camera to capture the beauty of Yosemite’s high country.

Cathedral peak reflected in the water of Cathedral lake
Cathedral Lakes and Cathedral Peak. Photo © Robert Bohrer/123rf.

Half Dome

You will need to have secured a permit in advance for this hike. Start as early in the morning as you can because you have 17 miles and a whopping 4,800 feet of elevation gain ahead of you. Start at Happy Isles and proceed up the Mist Trail past Vernal and Nevada Falls. Above Nevada Fall, take the left fork for Half Dome. The trail is relatively easy from here (you’ve completed about half of the ascent already) until you reach the infamous steel cables that run up the back of the dome. It takes two hands and two feet to haul yourself up the cables, ascending 440 feet of nearly vertical granite. On top, you can bask in your accomplishment while taking in the commanding view.

Sentinel Dome and Taft Point

Glacier Point Road offers a smorgasbord of short, rewarding hikes. Start with the trails to Sentinel Dome and Taft Point, both 2.2-mile round-trips that begin at a trailhead one mile before the end of the road. Then, if you still feel energetic, hike to McGurk Meadow. It’s only 1 mile to the pristine meadow, so you might as well continue another 2.5 miles to Dewey Point, a fantastic viewpoint that overlooks Yosemite Valley.

Clouds Rest

The summit of Clouds Rest beckons vista lovers. It’s 1,000 feet higher than Half Dome, with an even better view looking down into Yosemite Valley. The hike is 14 miles round-trip from the Sunrise Lakes Trailhead on Tioga Pass Road. Good news—the total elevation gain is only 2,300 feet, so it’s much easier than Half Dome. The final summit ascent travels along a series of granite “pancakes.” Be sure to stop at Sunrise Lakes for a swim on your way back to the trailhead.

hiker approaching a lake in mountainous landscape
Tioga Pass in Yosemite National Park. Photo © Ann Marie Brown.

North Dome

North Dome is Half Dome’s neighbor, right across Tenaya Canyon. This nine-mile round-trip leads to sublime views, with the best possible perspective on Half Dome of any summit in the park, plus a chance to visit Indian Rock, the only granite arch in Yosemite.

Mount Dana

The 13,053-foot summit of Mount Dana can be reached with a rather brutal ascent that gains 3,100 feet over a mere three miles. Start at the Tioga Pass entrance station and hike southeast on the trail. You’ll climb all the way to the Dana Plateau at 11,600 feet, a good rest stop. Another mile and 1,500 feet of elevation gain await, but the hard work is completely worth it. Your reward is one of the finest views in the Sierra, encompassing Mono Lake, Ellery and Saddlebag Lakes, Tuolumne Meadows, and an untold wealth of high peaks.


Pin it for Later

yosemite hikes pinterest graphic