You may not technically be on top of the world, but you’ll feel like it.ĭescend Clouds Rest’s southern side to rejoin the JMT. Once past the narrow, rocky ridge, you’ll be standing on a 9,926-foot summit, looking down on Half Dome-plus Tenaya Canyon, Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, and the Clark Range.

The trail drops through a small, forested canyon look for sheltered campsites about 13 miles in. Turn north on the Sunrise Trail to Sunrise Lakes, a clutch of tarns with white granite “beaches,” then hit a trail junction and go south on the Clouds Rest Trail. Rejoin the JMT (via a short spur) and turn south toward Cathedral Pass to Sunrise High Sierra Camp. The highlights start rolling after the first 3.5 miles on the John Muir Trail, when you reach Upper and Lower Cathedral Lakes in an alpine bowl under 10,940-foot Cathedral Peak. And no other stretch of trail better captures it all than these miles from Tuolumne Meadows, over a classic summit, and past a pair of cascades.

No other park can quite match the granite domes, ground-shaking waterfalls, and massive sequoia groves for sheer scenic power. With a wink and a nod to the Grand Canyon’s endless curves, Glacier’s spiky summits, and Yellowstone’s steaming geyser basins, Yosemite is the beauty queen of the national parks. Photo by Grant Ordelheide 21 miles / Best Backpacking in the System Get this view of Half Dome and Yosemite Valley from Clouds Rest. Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members!

Sunrise lakes to clouds rest