- Distance: 13km
- Duration (with breaks): 3h 45min
- Duration (only hiking): 3h 00min
- Route type: to the lake and back
- Start/end: Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Centre
- Elevation gain/loss: 417m/417m
- Difficulty: easy to moderate
- When to hike: when Tioga road is open (usually May - October)
- When did we hike: mid-September
Why this route?
As we stayed for two nights on the east side of Yosemite, we dedicated one day to hiking on the trails that are located on Tioga Road. I picked this trail purely based on reviews and recommendations. Ok ok, I also have a soft spot for lakes in the mountains.
How to get there?
The trail starts at the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center. According to Google Maps, the trail starts a bit further from the Visitor Centre, but when we visited that entrance was closed and all cars were directed to the parking lot of the Visitor Centre instead.
There is actually even a road sign to the trail, so I’m sure the sign would be moved if the starting point was changed. Cathedral Lakes can only be accessed by car and this part of the park does not have any shuttle busses either.
So how was it?
The trail climbs steadily up through a forest all the way to the lakes. If you like to have something to stare at even when hiking, this trail is not going to offer panoramas until the very end. However, once at the lakes, the views are nice and there are ample opportunities to explore the area around the lakes.
On our trip, it was an overcast day, so we could see the Cathedral peak only partially as it was covered in clouds. Besides, it was rather cold by the lake and we didn’t stay there very long. The good news is that mediocre weather also means fewer people. We met only a few other hikers during the whole hike. I’m sure there are way more people on beautiful sunny days as the lakes area must be amazing.
Overall, it is a fine hike but definitely not a highlight of Yosemite. If you have a couple of days in Yosemite, then the trails on the north of the park such as Cathedral Lakes offer a bit more quiet side of Yosemite compared to the mayhem of Yosemite Valley.
