Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Tuolumne Meadows

I know this is a bit off topic, but does anyone have some suggestions for a overnight backpack trip out of Tuolumne Meadows? Permits are not available for the May Lake area. The trip is for beginning backpackers. Thanks for your help!

Go toward Glen Aulin: The trail parallels the Tuolumne River. You have the river all along the way, so you don't need to go all the way to Glen Aulin.

Or go up the Lyell Fork -- another nearly level hike for miles. There are meadows all along the way.

Or go to Cathedral Lakes. It is a 1500 ft. elev climb over three miles. The lakes are beautiful.

Vogelsang lake is a beautiful overnight out of Toulumne. You can continue from Vogelsang lake to the valley with a couple more days of hiking. We spent a night at Vogelsang, a night at Merced lake and our last night on the trail at little yosemite valley camp. Which gave us the opportunity to climb half dome on our last day and then hike out past the falls to the happy isles visitor center. I think we caught a park shuttle from there back to our car in Toulomne.

start at Tenaya Lake and head toward Clouds Rest. then loop back via Sunrise camp

A very easy trip is to go up the Lyell Fork for about eight miles or so, and stop just before it starts to head up toward Donohue Pass. That is a nice area, with good views of Mt Lyell, and decent fishing. There's not a lot of vertical on that route.