Ellery Lake

Ellery Lake sits right alongside CA-120 (Tioga Pass Road) in Inyo National Forest, just outside Yosemite's eastern boundary near Tioga Pass — a 9,500-foot alpine lake that most people first see through a windshield on the drive between Lee Vining and the park. Pull off along the western shore and you're at a small campground and a stretch of open, rock-rimmed water fed by Lee Vining Creek.

Fishing

Ellery is regularly stocked with rainbow trout, and brook and brown trout are also present. Lee Vining Creek, which feeds and drains the lake, gets fished too. A California fishing license is required, same as any other Sierra lake.

Camping

The campground on the lake's western shore is first-come, first-served — no reservations. Sites have a table, fire ring with grate, and food storage locker, and the campground has drinking water and vault toilets. At 9,500 feet, nights stay cold even in summer, and sites here tend to fill early given how close the lake sits to the Tioga Pass entrance.

Getting There

Ellery Lake is on CA-120, a few miles below Tioga Pass and Yosemite's eastern boundary, roughly a 20-minute drive from Lee Vining. Tioga Road is seasonal — it closes with the first heavy snow and doesn't reopen until crews clear it the following spring or early summer, so this is strictly a warm-season stop.