Upper Cathedral Lake

Figure 1. Upper Cathedral Lake, Yosemite National Park, CA.

Cathedral Lakes Trail is among the most popular from Tioga Road in Yosemite National Park. It is a 7 mile round trip hike to Lower Cathedral Lake. To reach Upper Cathedral Lake, you will need to hike one more mile and find it worth the extra efforts. You may need to give yourself more time if you are not used to high elevation above 8,000 feet.

Cathedral Lakes offer the classic High Sierra scenery. A lake is with peaks as the backdrop. It looks particularly good for Upper Cathedral Lake. The unusual shape of the glacier-carved Cathedral Peak together with the lake contributes one of the most memorable scenes in Yosemite National Park.

I've hiked this trail three times. The first time is after October snow. I couldn't find the trail after I was very close to Lower Cathedral Lake. So I saw nothing and turned back. The second time is in September. I hiked to both lakes and decided to be here again in summer. I found this place in summer works quite well for me. Although it is cold light, the CPL helps the color saturated and I like it very much. In fact, I hiked further to Cathedral Pass and stayed at Sunrise High Sierra Camp for one night.

Although Cathedral Peak can be seen easily from Tioga Road, the view from Upper Cathedral Lake is so striking. It also gives different pleasure from Yosemite Valley. I highly recommend take this hike.