Parking
Start at Mono Pass Trailhead on Tioga Road. The lot has about a dozen spaces; when it fills, nearby roadside pullouts can add up to a half-mile walk.
Overview
About Spillway Lake Trail
Why go
- A gradual high-country approach ends at a real alpine lake.
- Midsummer red mountain heather adds a vivid detail to the meadow walk.
Heads up
- Several unbridged creek crossings can be cold and fast at snowmelt.
- Mud and marsh near the lake slow the final stretch.
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Yosemite map
Full mapElevation9,610–10,453 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Best time to go
Safety
4 active Yosemite alerts
- ClosureDome Fire closes Glacier Point Road and trailsGlacier Point Road is temporarily closed because Dome Fire smoke reduces visibility and to allow firefighting operations; some trails south of the road are also closed.Official details
- CautionMist Trail access limited during October repairsThe Mist Trail between its John Muir Trail junction above the Vernal Fall footbridge and the top of Vernal Fall has limited access through October for repair work.Official details
“Mono Pass Trailhead is coming up, for a high-country walk from wet meadows to the drier Sierra crest. Allow five to seven hours for the eight-mile round trip, with altitude adding effort above ten thousand feet.”
Yosemite Tour Guide
Yosemite, narrated.
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
Mono Pass0:00 / 0:26
“Mono Pass Trailhead is coming up, for a high-country walk from wet meadows to the drier Sierra crest. Allow five to seven hours for the eight-mile round trip, with altitude adding effort above ten thousand feet.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Yosemite Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- A Nest Beside the Waterfall
- Tioga Pass and Gaylor Lakes
- Lower Gaylor Lake Trailhead
- Why the Sierra Has a Dry Side
- 125 audio storiesacross Yosemite’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Black Bear, Peregrine Falcon, Mule Deer, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 141 trails, 99 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“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
Hiking Spillway Lake Trail
What you’re walkingSpillway Lake Trail is an 8-mile out-and-back from Mono Pass Trailhead, climbing gradually…
Spillway Lake Trail is an 8-mile out-and-back from Mono Pass Trailhead, climbing gradually through lodgepole pines and wet meadows to a high-country lake. It gains about 800 feet, from roughly 9,700 feet at the trailhead to 10,480 feet at the lake. Allow about five hours for the distance, altitude and creek crossings. Go for a long, steady walk with an alpine lake as the payoff; this is a half-day hike, not a quick detour.
Take the lake forkFor about 2.3 miles, the route shares the historic Mono Pass trail.
For about 2.3 miles, the route shares the historic Mono Pass trail. At the signed fork, turn right for Spillway Lake; the branch takes another 1.7 miles. Continuing straight climbs more steeply toward Mono Pass, a different route. The shared approach alternates between lodgepole woods and wet meadows, with rocky stretches along the way. Red mountain heather blooms beside the trail in midsummer.
The last meadow and the lakeSeveral creeks cross without bridges.
Several creeks cross without bridges. During early snowmelt, water can be high, cold and swift; early summer can also mean muddy tread. The final meadow can be swampy, and the shoreline is marshy where small streams feed the lake. Reaching the western shore requires another inlet or outlet crossing, so don’t count on walking around the whole lake.
Kuna Peak and Kuna Crest rise above the lake’s south and west sides, both topping 12,000 feet. From an opening on the eastern shore, the water and high ridges make the clearest view together.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Yosemite
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.
