Hiking in Yosemite is great, but the trails always seem to be really busy. Wouldn’t it be great if there was an awesome hike that got you away from all the crowds? Well, there is and it’s called the Young Lakes Loop!
Located in the Yosemite high country at Tuolumne Meadows, the Young Lakes Loop is a long and strenuous hike that takes you to three awesome lakes in the backcountry, and gives epic views of some of Yosemite’s most rugged peaks! If you can handle the 16 miles, it’s definitely worth it!
Miles/Elevation:
15.9 miles
2,589 feet vertical gain
About Yosemite:
Located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, Yosemite National Park is one of the largest and most popular parks in the entire National Park System.
Steeped in history, Yosemite has played a major role in the development of environmentalism and conservation in the United States since the late 1800’s. In 1864, President Lincoln created the Yosemite Grant, which did not make Yosemite a national park, but did set the precedent that would lead to the creation of Yellowstone National Park.
Yosemite was ceded to the State of California and ran by the state for much of the late 1800’s. Eventually, in 1890, Yosemite National Park was created, and stronger protections were put in place to preserve the park.
Beyond the National Park Service, the legendary naturalist John Muir is perhaps best known for his advocacy in favor of preserving Yosemite National Park. A giant in the history of conservation, Muir, who fell in love with the mountains after a serious industrial accident, became arguably the most influential figure in preserving the natural landscapes of the west. His relationship with President Theodore Roosevelt and the expansion of federally protected lands may be the greatest achievement of this era of conservation!
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Getting To Yosemite:
Located in Central California, Yosemite is fairly remote, but can be reached from a number of major cities. The closest large city is Fresno, and Fresno’s airport is the best choice if you are flying in. Other cities located within a three hour or so drive with major airports include Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and Sacramento.
From these cities or any others, you’ll then likely need to drive to the park. There is a regional public transit system called YARTS (Yosemite Area Regional Transit System), and can be useful if you are trying to get to Yosemite Valley. However, I generally advocate having your own car when exploring the mountains. It just makes it easier to explore and get around.
Once you’re in Yosemite, there is a transit system that can get you around the park, however it is not running in 2021. Go to the Yosemite NPS website for more information on public transit in Yosemite. When it is running, the public transit can get you to many of the major trailheads in the park.
Getting To The Trailhead:
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The trailhead for Cathedral Lakes is in the Tuolumne Meadows area of the park. Located along Tioga Road in the Yosemite high country, Tuolumne is probably the second most visited region of the park after the valley.
The trailhead is located right off Tioga Road (highway 120) in Tuolumne Meadows. The best place to park and start hiking is the Lembert Dome Picnic Area. If the parking lot is full, there is additional parking along the side of the gravel road leaving the parking. Tuolumne Meadows is 54 miles from Yosemite Valley and about an hour and twenty minute drive.
Young Lakes Loop:
To Dog Lake:
I did this trail counter clockwise to get all of the climbing out of the way at the start of the hike. To do it this way, you will actually begin on the Dog Lake Trail.
The trail begins climbing moments after leaving the parking lot, and it’s not an easy climb! None of the climbs on this hike are massive miles long slogs up thousands of feet, but there are lots of short sections of trail that are steep! Steep trail plus being around 9 and 10,000 feet makes for some hard breathing!
After around a mile and 600-700 feet of climbing, you’ll reach the junction to Dog Lake. The trail to the Young Lakes continues straight, but Dog Lake is a nice little side trip. It won’t take you more than five minutes or so each way, but you get the first awesome view of the hike over Dog Lake!
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To Lower Young Lake:
From Dog Lake, head back to the trail you left and turn right to continue on. For the next three miles, the trail alternates between short, steep climbs, and flat walking through open meadows. It’s actually really nice walking; when you’re in the woods you can just put your head down and push through the climb, and then you get to relax a bit and walk through open meadows with great views!
Consider purchasing the America the Beautiful Pass if you’re visiting Yosemite!
This is also a very good wildlife viewing area! I saw a number of deer on my hike, and if there are deer, presumably you should see the other animals that make Yosemite home.
Always be sure to follow the 7 Leave No Trace Principles when in the outdoors!
The final push of the climbing takes you onto a ridge that approaches tree line. You’ll be above 10,000 feet here, and the forest really thins out. Behind you is an incredible vista of the Yosemite high country, to your right are a pair of massive rolling mountains, and ahead of you is the peak that you’ll eventually have a great view of at the lakes.
From the high point on the ridge, you have a 300 foot or so descent down towards a trail intersection. At the intersection, go right. Later, you’ll go the other way to return and complete the loop.
You’re in bear country, so be sure to always be bear safe!
Once you’ve turned right, the trail gradually climbs back up 300 feet or so to the first lake. I still hadn’t eaten anything at this point, so this part of the hike really dragged on for me! It’s not actually that difficult though, but the lake is a welcome sight! You’ll see it through the trees soon enough, and once you arrive you’ll be awed by the view! The mosquitos here were a bit rough in June when I did this hike, but I’ve read that by late July they’re closer to nonexistent!
To Middle and Upper Lakes:
From the first lake, it is about half a mile to the second lake. The trail simply follows the shore of the lake, and then continues on to the second lake. Not really much to say, it’s short and you’re hiking through the woods.
The second lake is the smallest and in my opinion has the least impressive views, so I didn’t really stick around. It didn’t help that the mosquitos were getting worse! It’s still beautiful, and if you were camping out, it might be easier to find a quiet campsite here.
Always follow basic trail etiquette when on trail!
Getting to the Upper Lake is a bit of a challenge. First of all, the most obvious route away from Middle Lake is not the right way to go. It will lead you into the woods and the brush. The Alltrails GPS map is actually really close, so follow that if you can. Basically, you want to stay north rather than south (if that helps!).
The crux of the hike comes when the trail runs into a waterfall. If you’re hoping for a nice trail around, don’t hold your breath. The trail goes straight up.
This isn’t a rock climb, but it is definitely a scramble. Those who aren’t comfortable scrambling will probably turn around here, but it’s totally doable for those in decent shape, and if you’ve made it here you probably are.
They key with scrambling is to make sure your holds are strong. Don’t make a move until you are sure your feet and hands are in solid places. The worst part about this scramble was the fact that I had to basically crawl and pull myself through a couple of bushes!
Once at the top of the waterfall, the Upper Lake is just a few hundred yards away across an open meadow. The views are stunning, and I was really excited to get over to the water; I definitely felt that I had earned it!
Unfortunately, nature gave me a nasty surprise. Gnats.
Seriously, I have never seen so many annoying insects in the same place in my life. Mosquitos are worse, but there were literal clouds of gnats, and the second I got above the waterfall, they found me, and they followed me, and they wouldn’t leave me alone.
I made my way towards the lake trying not to go crazy as they buzzed around my ears and landed on me and bit through my clothes. There were a few times I felt them bite my shoulders, and when I rubbed my shoulders, I rubbed streaks of dead gnat into my shirt. It was awful.
I basically ran over to the lake, took a few pictures, and then ran back the way I came! My feet got wet because the meadow was still soggy, but I really didn’t care. All I wanted was to get back to the mosquitos of the first two lakes and away from these gnats!
It took some willpower, but I took it pretty slow down the scramble even though I was still being hounded, and once I was at the bottom, I took off. A few gnats followed me, but after a couple minutes it was just mosquitos, which I was honestly thankful for!
From here, it was just a long downhill hike back to the trailhead!
Back to Tuolumne Meadows:
Going counter-clockwise like I did meant that the hike back was 95% downhill, so it really wasn’t a challenging hike left in front of me. However, this is a nearly sixteen mile hike, so there were still plenty of miles to cover.
Cathedral Lake Is Another Great Tuolumne Hike!
After the trail junction, it’s a long three plus mile hike to the next intersection. This trail is pretty boring honestly. It’s basically a walk through the woods with very little for views. The trail itself is nice, but it’s just not exciting. The better hike would be going back the way you came, but going this way is less strenuous. This trail will likely be very quiet since it only goes to the Young Lakes, so that’s definitely a positive!
The next trail intersection is with the Pacific Crest Trail, and around here is where the hiking gets really good again. You will drop back into the Tuolumne Meadows area, and as you do, the views of some epic Yosemite peaks are wide open! It’s basically the same view as you had earlier on the ridge, but it really doesn’t get old!
Once you reach the junction with the PCT, you have a bit under two miles left to get back to the trailhead. I was expecting to basically be hiking through the meadows for the last couple miles, but you spend the large majority of this time hiking through more forest.
This last couple miles is more or less totally flat, and does make for easy hiking. You’ll be tired at this point, and the trail will probably be dragging on, but you’re almost there! The traffic also really picks up once you join the PCT.
Finally, you’ll start seeing cars, which means you really are almost there. The last little bit of walking is on gravel roads, and the last gravel road actually takes you right to the parking lot. Finish walking along the road, and you’re back!
Topdown Lifestyle Rating: 9/10
This is a great trail that provides huge views, awesome lakes, wildlife, nice walking, and quiet. There are some excellent backcountry camping opportunities, or you can do it as a great day hike. The only knock on this hike is the trail gets a little boring at times. The hike back to the trailhead can really drag on, and you can go miles without a good view. All that said, still an amazing hike all around!
Pros:
- Huge views
- Alpine lakes
- Camping opportunities
Cons:
- Some boring sections of trail
Alternative Hikes:
When To Visit Yosemite:
Hiking in Yosemite is a three season activity. Winter usually brings quite a bit of snow, and the entire park is liable to experience winter storms. While lower elevation areas of the park may be hikable in winter, Cathedral Lake’s cannot be hiked all year.
Purely in terms of weather, summer and fall are the best times of year to hike in Yosemite at high elevation. Summer can get hot, but at this elevation it shouldn’t be too bad. The one issue with fall is that fire season can either close down areas of the park, or more likely will blanket the park with smoke. In good years, it’s hardly an issue, but some years it’s harmful to even be outside.
It is also worth considering when Yosemite is busiest. This is one of the busiest parks in the country, so be ready for crowds if you visit in peak season, namely summer. Some people are really turned off by the crowds, and I agree if you only visit the valley, but Tuolumne usually isn’t too bad. This can cause issues with finding campsites in the park though.
Overall, I would say that early fall is the best time to visit the Yosemite high country. The temperatures are comfortable, rain is rare, and the crowds are lighter than summer. Early autumn is also a great time to visit as Tioga Road can be closed into July some years.
The last thing to consider when planning your visit is that the high elevation roads through the park close for snow. Tioga Pass and Glacier Point Road both close from winter to whenever the snow melts (usually May or June but it varies). Spring will limit where you can go in the park, so if you really want to explore the high country, wait at least until late June!
Links For Further Reading:
Best trails in Yosemite National Park
Yosemite National Park (US National Park Service)
Yosemite National Park | Lodging & Year Round Activities | TravelYosemite.com
Yosemite National Park | Lodging, Camping, Attractions | Yosemite.com
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