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| | California | High Sierra | Yosemite National Park | |||
Toulumne Meadows - Tioga Rd. |
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Tioga Road (Route 120) crosses the Sierra Nevada mountains, going from redwood groves at the western entrance, through Tuolumne Meadows, over Tioga Pass down into the sage-brush desert and Mono Lake. Tuolumne Meadows is truly Sierra alpine "high country," with wide open meadows and clear streams, surrounded by rugged mountains, but it's very accessible for kids. | |
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Tuolumne Meadows – The meadows at Tuolumne are perfect for kids! The Tuolumne River flows over moss-covered pebbles and sandy stream bottoms. Kids can play for hours, wading and splashing in shallow pools, building dams or moss gardens in little side streams that meander off the main river, or just running through the soft grasses in the meadows. | ||
 Visitor
Center – Stop into the Visitor Center for brochures and trail maps, park rangers will have answers to your questions. Also exhibits about plants and wildlife
in Tuolumne, a 3-D relief map of the meadows and mountains, selection
of kids books and maps for sale, restrooms. |
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| Soda
Springs – Park at the Soda Springs trailhead on Tioga Road and
head out on the trail through the meadows. On the way you'll cross the Tuolumne
River – stop off to play by the water. At the Soda Springs, watch fizzy water bubbling out of the orange-colored ground (don't drink
the water). |
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Twin Bridges – Take the trail (Pacific Coast Trail
and John Muir Trail) from the Dog Lake parking lot to the Lyell Fork of
the Tuolumne River. At the bridge are wonderful shallow rock pools and sandy beaches
where kids can play, while the panorama of the surrounding mountains is just
glorious. The trail continues along the river – follow it as long as
you like. Bring a picnic and spend the day. |
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| Climb
Pothole Dome – You can see Pothole Dome from Tioga Road, poking
up at the western edge of Tuolumne Meadows. Follow the trail from the road
around to the eastern side of the dome. From there, climb up the gentle
rock slope to the top (200 ft.). The southeastern side is a big wide flat
expanse of rock, some with glacial polish, and easy for kids to walk up.
From the top, you'll have a bird's eye view all around – the meadows
to the east, high mountains to the north and another rock dome, Fairview
Dome, right across the way. |
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| Hike to Elizabeth Lake – One of our favorite hikes at Tuolumne, the trail winds up through a shady pine forest, goes along green meadows next to a sparkling creek, arriving at a spectacular lake, nestled at the base of Unicorn Peak. Kids will want to explore the paths around the lake, and may even find a little snow at the eastern shore. The hike is 4.6 miles round trip, the trailhead is located at the Tuolumne Meadows Campground. |
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Lembert Dome picnic area – Only picnic area along Hwy 120 here in the meadows - picnic tables in sun and shade, restrooms. |
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Tuolumne Meadows Store & Grill – Stop into the store for ice cream after your hike (a must for our family), and groceries if you're camping. Grill has breakfast, hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled cheese, fruit, gold drinks. |
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Staying in Tuolumne Meadows – Tuolumne Meadows Campground has lots of campsites - reserve on Recreation.gov. Cabins and tent camping are available at White Wolf Lodge and Tuolumne Meadows Lodge, June to Sept. |
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| Tip: Camping and tent cabins, remember Tuolumne Meadows is at high elevation (8,000 ft) and it's cold at night - bring warm clothing. One June we stayed in a tent cabin (with a wood stove) at White Wolf Lodge, in the morning there was frost on the meadow and it was below freezing. | |||
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Bennettville Trail (Tioga Rd) – On Tioga Rd. 2 miles past Tioga Pass, turn off at Saddlebag Lakes to take a short hike to Bennettville, all that remains of an unsuccessful 19th century silver mine. The trail begins at Junction Meadow Campground, and follows up Mine Creek cascading through colorful colorful rocks and meadows. | |
| At Bennettville are two weathered pine buildings, a tall bunkhouse, and old assay office, surrounded by weather-worn pine trees. | |||
| Continue up the trail to lovely Shell Lake, the perfect spot to have a picnic lunch on grassy meadows. | |||
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Tenaya Lake – Tenaya Lake is a sparkling high mountain lake, deep blue and icy cold. The eastern shore of Tenaya Lake has a sandy beach where kids can wade and swim. Or, go out on the water in an inflatable kayak or raft. Pitch your beach umbrella, spread out a picnic (there are picnic tables) and spend the afternoon playing by the lake. | |
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Olmsted Point – Stop at Olmsted Point for a gorgeous view of that swirly, scooped-out granite mountain called Cloud Rest and the back side of Half Dome. This is also a great spot to see slabs of rock neatly polished by the glaciers, and huge boulders left in the aftermath. | ||
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Tuolumne Grove – Take a short hike (one mile each way) through the giant sequoias to the "Tunnel Tree," a huge redwood that was tunneled out in 1878. As you walk through the softly-shaded, carpeted forest, light gently filters down through the tree branches high above – it's simply magical. | |
