Ten Lakes Basin
Yosemite National Park · near Tuolumne Meadows / Groveland · Sierra Nevada / Yosemite
Hiking
At a glance
- Difficulty
- moderate
- Route type
- out-and-back
- Distance
- 13 miles
- Elevation gain
- 2,400 ft
- Time needed
- overnight · multi-day
- Best season
- July–September
Permits and booking
- Permit required
- Yes
- How the permit works
- Yosemite wilderness permit via Recreation.gov lottery, 24 weeks ahead, Ten Lakes trailhead on Tioga Road. A more attainable Yosemite permit than the Valley trailheads. Bear canister mandatory.
- How hard the permit is to get
- 3 of 5
What is here
- Features
- Cluster of alpine lakes · Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne views · Accessible Yosemite high country · Great swimming
Worth knowing
- Dogs
- Not permitted
- Good for a first timer
- Yes
Hiking detail
- Nights
- 1–3
- Resupply
- None needed. Bear canister required.
- Intl tip
- The higher lakes in the basin see far fewer people than the first ones you reach — push past the initial lakes for solitude and better camps. Tioga Road access means the season is short: the road typically opens late May or June and closes with the first big snow.
The guide
Ten Lakes Basin offers a genuine taste of Yosemite's high country on a manageable, first-timer-friendly scale. From the trailhe…
In the Guidebook
Everything above is yours for free. The written guide to Ten Lakes Basin — what it is actually like, and what we would tell a friend before they went — comes with the Guidebook.
Getting there
- Coordinates
- 37.885, -119.52