CA 120 TRIPS

No trans-Sierra highway offers as many delightful trailheads as does CA 120, which cuts across Yosemite National Park. It should be no surprise, then, that the scenery along the trips from CA 120 is simply spectacular—and quite varied, as it forms an east–west transect and offers trailheads starting at very different elevations. From west to east, we present trips from these trailheads: Hetch Hetchy, White Wolf, Ten Lakes, Yosemite Creek, Sunrise Lakes, Cathedral Lakes, Elizabeth Lake, Glen Aulin, Lyell Canyon, Mono Pass, and Saddlebag Lake. All are in Yosemite except for the last. Two additional Yosemite trailheads, May Lake and Murphy Creek, are included in the list because described hikes end at these.

Each trailhead is unique: Hetch Hetchy, the lowest, is best in late spring and early summer when its waterfalls are at their fullest. White Wolf, the westernmost of the high trailheads along CA 120, is a gateway to the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River. The Ten Lakes Trailhead, meanwhile, provides access to a stunning traverse high above the Tuolumne River Canyon. From the Yosemite Creek Trailhead, you can travel south to Yosemite Valley. The Sunrise Lakes Trailhead at Tenaya Lake offers quick access to the scenic backcountry around Sunrise Mountain. Cathedral Lakes is a very popular way to pick up the John Muir Trail (JMT) segment that leads to the Cathedral Lakes and beyond to enjoy some lovely creek corridors, meadows, and forest scenery between Tuolumne Meadows and Yosemite Valley. Elizabeth Lake leads to that lake and, better yet, to a beautiful cross-country jaunt to a lake in the heart of the Cathedral Range. The Glen Aulin Trailhead provides the easiest access to northern Yosemite and also, along a spur, to the quite secluded Young Lakes. The Lyell Canyon Trailhead marks the southbound continuation of the bustling JMT and Pacific Crest Trail route, and also provides access to what many consider Yosemite’s most spectacular and wild backcountry around Vogelsang High Sierra Camp. From Mono Pass, backpackers can exit Yosemite via a lightly used route into a splendid lakes basin in Ansel Adams Wilderness. Saddlebag Lake, lying just east of Yosemite, offers easy access to a charming little lakes basin as well as a starting (or ending) point for cross-country adventures from that basin into Yosemite.

It’s no wonder that aspiring backpackers from all over the world flock to CA 120!

Trailheads: Hetch Hetchy

White Wolf

Ten Lakes

Yosemite Creek

May Lake

Sunrise Lakes

Murphy Creek

Cathedral Lakes

Elizabeth Lake

Glen Aulin

Lyell Canyon (JMT/PCT)

Mono Pass

Saddlebag Lake