We continued our March 2018 visit to Yosemite National Park with an easy, short hike to Mirror Lake. The trail begins at shuttle stop #17 at the eastern end of Yosemite Valley. The only way to reach the shuttle stop is to ride the free shuttle bus or ride a bicycle. The trail follows a paved service road from the shuttle stop for 1.0 miles to Mirror Lake. From here, you can return via the service road, extend the hike to circle the lake, or return by way of the Valley Loop Trail. We hiked up to the northern end of the upper lake, about 1.2 miles from the shuttle stop, before returning on the Valley Loop Trail back to the vault toilets about ½ mile from the shuttle stop and completed the hike on the service road. Vault toilets are also located at Mirror Lake. We walked a total of 2.3 miles to complete the loop. We wore our MICROspikes® for almost all of the Valley Loop Trail and removed them when we returned to the service road. This is a beautiful hike in late winter and spring when Tenaya Creek is flowing, but the lake disappears by mid- to late-summer.
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| Topographic map with GPS route |
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| View from the shuttle stop |
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| Service road and trail |
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| Tenaya Creek |
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| North Dome (7542') |
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| Tenaya Creek |
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| Lower pool |
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| Vault toilets |
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| Mount Watkins and Ahwiyah Point above Tenaya Creek |
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| Ripples in the lower pool |
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| Reflection Rock |
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| Boulder dam between the pools |
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| Ahwiyah Point and Half Dome (8835') |
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| Mount Watkins reflected in Mirror Lake |
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| Half Dome |
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| Returning on the Valley Loop Trail |
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| Typical trail conditions |
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| One of several sets of stone stairs |
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| Boulders line the trail |
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| Moss was growing everywhere |
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| Another view of Half Dome |
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| Signs of deferred maintenance |
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| More stairs |
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| A small meadow was fenced out |
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| Flagstone appearance |
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| This would be difficult with out traction devices on our boots |
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| More stairs |
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| Trail summit ~4160' elevation |
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| There's a trail here somewhere |
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| More trailside boulders |
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| Fog rolls in |
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| A small portion of the lower slopes of Half Dome |
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| Moss even grows on the north side of this boulder |
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| Footprints in the snow |
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| Weaving through the boulder maze |
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| More stairs, but down this time |
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| More of the maze |
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| North Dome |
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| Trail descends between the boulders |
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| Almost back to the service road |
Entrance to Yosemite National Park requires an entry fee of $30 per passenger vehicle for a 7-day pass. The price increases to $35 per vehicle on June 1, 2018. Any of the America the Beautiful passes may be used instead.
The park website is https://www.nps.gov/yose.
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