Elizabeth Lake Trail

Elizabeth Lake Trail is a 4.8-mile out-and-back from the back of Tuolumne Meadows Campground’s B Loop to a glacier-carved lake below Unicorn Peak. The climb is steady rather than technical, but the trail starts above 8,600 feet and reaches about 9,500 feet, so it can feel harder than the mileage suggests. Allow four to six hours if you want time at the lake. Starting at Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center is a longer 6.8-mile round trip.

The trail leaves from behind B Loop and reaches a John Muir Trail junction within the first few hundred yards. After that it climbs for about 1.4 miles through lodgepole pines, with little change in the view. The first real opening comes around 1.5 miles at Unicorn Creek, where a pocket meadow gives you a look southwest and south toward the Cathedral Range, including Unicorn Peak. Early-summer flowers may include Leichtlin’s mariposa lily, larkspur, and lupine.

The path bends west to Elizabeth Lake’s east shore, where Unicorn Peak rises above the water. The lake sits in a glacier-carved basin beneath the peak. A separate one-mile path circles the shoreline if you want a longer visit; the mapped out-and-back ends at the lake and returns along the same corridor.

Use the day-use area before the equestrian camp, then follow the campground road to the B Loop trailhead. Vehicle access depends on Tioga Road, which usually closes after significant snowfall. Afternoon thunderstorms can build in midsummer, and the lakeshore has less shelter than the forest; head back under the trees if storms develop. Pets and bicycles aren’t allowed on Yosemite hiking trails.