Ostrander Lake Trail

The first half rolls through forest and meadow on a mostly gradual incline. At roughly 0.3 mile, a wooden footbridge crosses a tributary of Bridalveil Creek. Around 1.4 miles, the right-hand branch heads toward Bridalveil Creek Campground; keep left and east for Ostrander. At about 2.6 miles, an overgrown Deer Camp spur branches away. Stay left again. These junctions are easy to mistake for the route if you follow every worn-looking path, so keep the lake as your destination and check the map at each split.

Beyond the second junction, the trail turns uphill in earnest. It gains about 800 feet over the next 1.7 miles to Horizon Ridge, with burned patches and recovering forest giving way to more open granite. The first view openings are partly screened by trees; clearer panoramas appear at open spots near the crest and just east of the trail where it bends south. Look for Mount Starr King, Half Dome, Mount Hoffman and the Clark Range. If you stop for a photo, keep a little tread or granite foreground in frame so the broad ridgeline has scale.

Past the ridge, the path stays rocky and uneven, rising and dipping before a final drop of about 75 feet from a wooded knoll to the shore. Ostrander Lake is about six miles from the trailhead; the same corridor brings you back. The stone hut stands near the lake on the right as you arrive. Built in 1941 for cross-country skiers coming from Badger Pass, it is a winter hut, not a summer shelter hikers should count on entering. The lake is also the source of Bridalveil Creek, which continues toward Bridalveil Fall.

The approach is gentlest early and hardest later, so the first few miles can make the hike feel easier than it is. Keep food and water for the late climb and the walk back along the same six-mile corridor. There is no confirmed drinking-water source on the route; carry what you need for the full day. If the high elevation or late sustained climb does not suit your group, choose a shorter hike rather than treating the lake as a casual out-and-back.

Start at the named Ostrander Lake Trailhead on Glacier Point Road. A vault toilet and food-storage lockers are listed at the access. The road typically opens in late May and closes in October or November, with dates changing from year to year, so check its status before driving. Pets and bicycles are not allowed on Yosemite hiking trails. An overnight backpacking trip requires a wilderness permit; the day hike described here returns to the road the same day.