Young Lakes Trail

Dogs No Dogs

Features River/Creek · Views

The only services along this trail are at the Visitor Center in Tuolumne Meadows or at the Lembert Dome parking lot. Make sure to carry enough water, food, and sunscreen for the hike. You can filter water at the lake and Delaney Creek, but any other creeks on the trail are seasonal. Snow can persist at the higher elevations later into the Spring or summer, so ask rangers about trail conditions before hiking this trail.

To get to Young Lakes, you can follow either trail up to Young Lakes, it just depends if you want your views of the Cathedral Range at the beginning of the hike or toward the middle of the hike. For the purposes of this description, the trail departs the trail to Glen Aulin and makes its way through the woods before emerging on a granite slab at roughly a quarter of a mile. To your left is a view of the Cathedral Range and domes of the Tuolumne Meadows area that only get better as you climb uphill.

Take time to enjoy the views through this section because they will be short lived. At roughly 3/4 of a mile, the trail enters the forest and climbs steadily uphill for the next 2.25 miles. In the late spring and early summer, wildflowers bloom along the trail. At roughly 3 miles, the trail crests a ridge and drops down to a trail junction. If you go straight, you end up at Young Lakes where you can enjoy great views of the lake, with options for swimming and fishing open to those who want to enjoy the lake.

For the purposes of this description, the trail to the right is the one that leads back toward Tuolumne Meadows. The trail climbs steeply up the hillside through the woods until it emerges at the edge of the tree line and sweeping views of the Cathedral Range come into view. Ragged Peak is off to your left while spectacular views spread out before you to the right. Take time to enjoy the views, they are some of the best in sierras.

From here, the trail begins it descent back toward Lembert Dome. The trail passes through a meadow where views of Mount Gibbs and Mount Dana come into view. After crossing the Meadow and hopping over Delaney Creek, the trail climbs uphill briefly before descending to the junction with Dog Lake. From here you can turn to the left and go to Dog Lake to enjoy the views there or continue straight ahead to make your way back down to the Lembert Dome parking area or Dog Lake Parking area, depending on where you parked.

This is a nice loop trail that can be done in either direction, it just depends on your preference of when you do the climbing and when you want to get the views.

Deer can be seen along this trail throughout the year. Wildflowers like lupine, Indian paintbrush, daisies, and other wildflowers common to the area can be seen blooming along the trail in late June and July.