Yosemite National Park, CA
A long walk among meadows, river crossings, and open high country.
Overview
Map & elevation
Plan your hike
“You're approaching the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge road, with access to Lyell Canyon. The seasonal lodge is a cluster of canvas tent cabins beside the river, with beds and wood stoves but no electricity or Wi-Fi.”
Yosemite Tour Guide
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Yosemite National Park. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Yosemite audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Tuolumne Meadows Lodge and Lyell Canyon“You're approaching the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge road, with access to Lyell Canyon. The seasonal lodge is a cluster of canvas tent cabins beside the river, with beds and wood stoves but no electricity or Wi-Fi.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yosemite Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
“We just drove through Yosemite and it made our trip listening to this app as we drove through. Like having a tour guide in the car with you.”
Trail guide
Lyell Canyon Trail is an 11.4-mile out-and-back on the John Muir and Pacific Crest trails, from the signed Tuolumne Meadows access to the Ireland Lake junction and back. The route climbs only about 300 feet, but it starts around 8,700 feet and takes most of a day: allow five to seven hours with stops. You get a long, easy-grade walk through lodgepole forest and open meadows, with the Tuolumne River, Kuna Crest and Mount Lyell along the way.
The signed trail starts by the southwest corner of the Tuolumne Meadows Lodge parking area. At the first fork, take the left branch over the bridge across Dana Fork; the right branch stays beside the river. At the early junctions, follow signs for Lyell Canyon or Donohue Pass. The trail passes Twin Bridges, where two bridges cross the Lyell Fork beside small cascades and a meadow. That makes a natural shorter turnaround if you do not want the full day.
About a mile and a half in, the route crosses Rafferty Creek on a bridge. A little beyond it is a creek crossing without a bridge; a log crossing is commonly used, and high water can make it awkward. Around two miles from the start, a broad meadow opens beside the Lyell Fork. Farther south, the trail turns through smaller meadows with the Tuolumne River. Most of the first eight miles are smooth and nearly level, so the distance and altitude are the commitment more than steep climbing.
When the route opens into the meadow, keep the river in the foreground with Kuna Crest and Mount Lyell behind it. That gives the view some depth and shows how the canyon widens around the water.
A little over five miles into the walk, the JMT/PCT reaches the Ireland Lake junction. Turn around here for the 11.4-mile version. The right branch goes toward Ireland Lake; the main trail continues through Lyell Canyon toward Donohue Pass, about seven miles farther on. That longer continuation is a different commitment and requires a wilderness permit for overnight travel.
Lyell Canyon is named for Charles Lyell, the nineteenth-century English geologist. The JMT and PCT share this corridor, so the long meadow walk is also part of two major through-routes across the Sierra.
Wildlife
732 sightingsBlack BearMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
1,747 sightingsMule DeerMost seen around 6 PMSighting map
332 sightingsCoyoteMost seen around 7 PMSighting map
11 sightingsPeregrine FalconMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
276 sightingsPikaMost seen around 8 AMSighting map
677 sightingsYellow-bellied MarmotMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Yosemite. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
Keep exploring
ChallengingIreland and Evelyn Lakes Loop22.2 mi · 12 hr · 0.2 mi awayTwo alpine lakes reward a long loop through a river meadow.
ChallengingIreland Lake Trail19.8 mi · 9 hr · 0.2 mi awayA long walk from Lyell Canyon to a quiet alpine lake.ChallengingEvelyn Lake Trail17.2 mi · 10.5 hr · 0.2 mi awayA full-day climb to a lake beneath Fletcher Peak.
EasyTwin Bridges of Lyell Fork Trail1.6 mi · 1.5 hr · 0.2 mi awayA gentle river walk to two timber bridges on Lyell Fork.
ChallengingVogelsang High Sierra Camp Trail14.4 mi · 9 hr · 0.2 mi awayA long meadow climb to a granite camp beneath two high peaks.
ModerateLembert Dome Trail2.1 mi · 2 hr · 0.2 mi awayShort forest climb, bare granite, and a Tuolumne Meadows panorama.
ChallengingVogelsang to Cathedral Loop34.4 mi · 18 hr · 1 mi awayA high-country loop linking three of Yosemite’s High Sierra Camps.
ChallengingBoothe Lake Trail15.5 mi · 10 hr · 1 mi awayA long high-country hike to a lake beneath the granite peaks.
Lodging · 0.1 mi awayTuolumne Meadows LodgeCanvas cabins beside the river, with trails on your doorstep.
Ranger station · 0.6 mi awayTuolumne Meadows Wilderness CenterTalk over your route and get a backcountry permit.
Sight · 0.7 mi awayLembert DomeA steep granite climb earns a wide-open Tuolumne panorama.
Campground · 1 mi awayTuolumne Meadows CampgroundA high-country base for Tuolumne's hikes, lakes, and river.
Food · 1.2 mi awayTuolumne Meadows Store and GrillLunch and trail basics before the high-country miles.
Sight · 1.5 mi awayTuolumne MeadowsA high-country meadow with river bends and granite domes.
Sight · 1.8 mi awayParsons Memorial Lodge and Soda SpringsA short walk joins a 1915 lodge with bubbling meadow springs.
Visitor center · 2.2 mi awayTuolumne Meadows Visitor CenterA ranger desk, geology exhibits and a CCC story beside the meadow.Parkwolf’s Yosemite ranking
The audio tour guide for the drive, plus offline maps, trails, and wildlife heatmaps for when the signal drops.
