Gaylor Lakes (Tioga Pass)
Tioga Pass entrance, Yosemite NP · near Lee Vining · Eastern Sierra
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 3 miles
- Elevation gain
- 800 ft
- Time needed
- day
- Best season
- July–October · Tioga Pass Rd closed ~Nov–late May/June
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- No
- How the permit works
- No wilderness permit for the day hike, but this is inside YOSEMITE NP — entrance fee applies and a peak-season day-use reservation may be required to drive in. Dogs prohibited (Yosemite) — a hard flip from the Inyo NF hikes nearby.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 2 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Two alpine lakes · Historic Great Sierra Mine ruins & stone cabins · Sierra crest panoramas · Cathedral Range views
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- No
Hiking detail
- Intl tip
- The climb is brutal for its length because you start near 10,000 ft — it's the altitude, not the distance. Leave the dog in Lee Vining; no dogs in Yosemite.
The guide
A steep half-mile grind straight up from the Tioga Pass entrance tops out on a ridge with a sudden view of the Gaylor Lakes and…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Gaylor Lakes (Tioga Pass) — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.9108, -119.2593