Tioga Pass in Yosemite not only takes you to the other side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains but also offers amazing vistas and hiking trails.
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Tioga Pass is the highest mountain pass in California and in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is located in Yosemite National Park on Route 120. It basically takes you from one park entrance to another.
Along Tioga Pass there are several interesting hiking trails and sights, and most of all; amazing mountain views. But it still is one of the least visited areas of Yosemite.
Most visitors spend their time in Yosemite Valley where most of the waterfalls and other natural wonders are. Many of them don’t even know what this side of the park has to offer.
Tioga Pass is only open part of the year as the area usually snows in already in November and the snow doesn’t melt until June or July.
However, Tioga Pass is well worth a visit and you can continue to many other interesting locations to the other side of the mountain from there. We did just that and we had such a great time.
Tioga Pass and things to see along it
Olmsted Point
Olmsted Point is a viewing area with an amazing view to Yosemite Canyon. People at Olmsted Point walk around on the rocks, take photos and enjoy the view.
From Olmsted Point you can see both Half Dome and Clouds Rest. Tenaya Canyon is in between them far away.
If you walk down on the path leaving from the left side of the parking lot, you can find these glacial erratic rocks that I am standing on in the picture. They are there due to this area once being a glacier. When the ice melted, it left behind many of these rocks.
Unfortunately there were also a lot of wasps around this area when we were there, and our daughter got stung by one. That cut our visit to Olmsted Point short, but luckily she got better quickly.
The vista can’t get any better than this!
Tenaya Lake
Tenaya Lake is right by the road and is an absolutely beautiful, clear water lake. The lake got formed by the Tenaya Glacier which also shaped Half Dome. Many creeks and springs bring water to the lake.
We saw a lot of people there swimming, kayaking, fishing and just having a picnic. There are also trails you can take from Tenaya Lake if you are interested in hiking.
Soda Springs
Soda Springs is a short hike which will take you to see carbonated cold water bubbling out of the ground.
Park your car at the Lembert Dome parking area and follow the signs. The trail follows Tuolumne River and is very scenic.
You will first arrive to the Parsons Lodge which was constructed by the Sierra Club in 1915 in honor of Edward Taylor Parsons. He was the club leader.
From the lodge, just turn to the right and the spring is right there. People used to drink the water from soda springs, but they do not encourage it anymore.
The trail was very easy and also suitable for strollers. You can find our tips for hiking with kids from here.
Tuolumne Meadows
Tuolumne Meadows must be the most known place in this part of the park. Melting snow always keeps this area wet and it is a perfect spot to see some wild flowers in the spring, the road would be already open.
There are many hiking trails around the meadows and you can see several domes arise in the distance.
DRIVING THROUGH TIOGA PASS IN YOSEMITE
There are not a lot of services on Route 120, so make sure you enter the park with a full tank of gas, and some food and water.
However, there is a visitor center in this area. Both Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center and the Wilderness Center are open in the summer months until mid-October.
Soon after the visitor center there was also a small temporary restaurant, but make sure to check the opening times since it doesn’t open at the same time as the road.
We brought our own snacks and there are many beautiful places to enjoy a picnic along the road. There are also several camping grounds on Tioga Road.
Also, be aware of altitude sickness, since going above 8,000 feet (2,500m) quickly can cause some symptoms for many people. They include headache, shortness of breath, insomnia and loss of appetite.
Tioga Pass at it’s highest point is 9,943 feet (3,031 m). If you are one of those people to get symptoms, it might be better for you to take it easy and enjoy the views rather than go hiking.
It is always a good idea to learn how to recognise and treat altitude sickness before heading to the high mountains.
After spending a day in Yosemite, we headed to the other side of the Sierra Nevada, to Mammoth Lakes where we visited Devils Postpile National Monument.
Devils Postpile is an rare rock formation in the United States where both hot lava and ice together have shaped an amazing wall of basalt columns. I have seen something similar before in Reynisfjara Black Sand Beach in Iceland.
If you are heading to the east side of Sierras, make sure to stop at least at Mono Lakes and Bodie Ghost Town. Mono Lakes is an ancient lake which has some interesting rock formations called tufa towers. And Bodie is absolutely the best ghost town in California.
Many visitors use Tioga Pass to cross the mountain in order to continue either to Death Valley National Park or to Las Vegas. If you plan to do that, then make sure to also check out Manzanar Historic Site along the way. It is rather sad and interesting place!
Some will visit Tioga Pass and then return back to the park. Here are our tips what all you should see and do in Yosemite Valley. At least you should hike to the Yosemite Falls and see the redwood forest at Mariposa Grove. And enjoy the beautiful views!
Have you been driving in Tioga Pass? What was your favorite thing to do there?
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I have always heard of the beauty of Yosemite park. It has always seemed quite dreamy and nice. However, your post showcases that beauty. really loved the view from Olmsted Point . And that pristine lake there. Am sure hiking would be amazing here to experience these views. Thanks for sharing these.
Thank you Ami! Mountains are always beautiful and Yosemite has so many great places to see.
So many of my friends living in the US have been to Yosemite and I’ve heard such great things that I want to go there myself someday. It’s a pity though that one cannot visit in the winter because the roads get closed. However, I did see some pictures (maybe the end of autumn) with snow in Yosemite and I feel in love with it! Soda Springs sound like the sort of place I’d like not to miss and also Tenaya Lake.
Yes, it’s definitely a great place to visit. And you can visit at the winter too, just not the part that we went this time. The road closes somewhere in October usually.
Oh wow! I didn’t know that it could be approached by other ways, than the very popular valley route. I had known only of that. Thanks for the tip that its open only in summers.
Carbonated cold water springs from the ground? That’s interesting.
Yosemite goes up as high as almost 10000ft? Whoa! That’s pretty high. You’re right. It can definitely cause altitude sickness is people.
So many things to see there that I didn’t know about. Yosemite is great!
Wow. You are among very few people who have seen Yosemite beyond Tioga Pass. My friends in SF have been just till the valley. Though I haven’t myself visited Yosemite National Park, I would love to do it someday, I liked the view from the Olmsted Point. It is stunning.
Yes. 😃We too started from the valley but I always wanted to see the Tioga Pass too. And it was worth going.
Ah! The views are so lovely. I was there SO long ago – probably 25 years ago. I need to head back – it’s gorgeous there!!
Thank you Jennifer! I truly is lovely up there and the views are great.
I have the Yosemite National Park as a bucket list and would love to tick it off soon. Your post has only made me think more about it and want to pack and leave straight away. Its natural beauty is the main driver for me wanting to visit it and the Olmsted Point viewing area indeed has some stunning views of the Yosemite Canyon. The offbeat path does pay off I must say and i will keep this in mind whilst planning . Thanks for a very informative post.
I’m glad you enjoyed this post, and I hope you get to visit Yosemite soon!
I haven’t been in Yosemite for so long! We used to visit the park almost every year when our son was growing up. It was the perfect place to spend a vacation. I loved it a lot in winter, when there are less crowds roaming around, but Yosemite is gorgeous year round.
I have never been there at the winter time but I have heard that it is amazing. Maybe next winter we will try that. Can’t wait!
Visiting Yosemite National Park is always on everybody’s wishlist but it would be good to take the path which mostly not many use. I loved that you took some offbeat path through Tioga pass to visit this iconic National Park. The view from Olmsted Point is really stunning and also it is very interesting to know that once upon a time it was a glacier and after melting, many uncut rocks were left behind.
Thank you Yukti! We really enjoyed doing this route and it was also a lot less crowded than other parts of the park.
Driving through Yosemite via the Tioga Pass sounds like a cool adventure. Even though I have read lots about visiting Yosemite, I had not heard of this route before. I quite like the vistas from the Olmsted Point. And I find the Soda Springs intriguing. Will be fun to check them out.
Most people stay at the Yosemite Valley so that might be the reason you haven’t heard of Tioga Pass before. But the park is actually pretty big and there is lot more to see than just the most famous spots.