McGee Lake

McGee Lake sits in a stretch of open granite and lodgepole pine in Yosemite's high country, a short detour off the trail between Glen Aulin and the rest of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne backcountry. It's a shallow, rock-rimmed lake that almost nobody sees by accident — you get there on foot, with a pack, and that's exactly its appeal for hikers looking to get well past the valley crowds.

Reaching McGee Lake

The lake lies along the Murphy Creek Trail corridor, about 0.8 miles beyond Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp, via a short climb of roughly 200 feet in under a mile out of the Glen Aulin basin. Most hikers approach from the Tuolumne Meadows trailhead off Tioga Road: Glen Aulin itself is about 5.3 miles in via the standard Glen Aulin Trail, or 6.8 miles via the Murphy Creek Trail, with McGee Lake less than a mile past that. Tioga Road and the connecting trails are open only in summer and early fall, once snow clears.

Camping and permits

McGee Lake is a popular first- or second-night stop for backpackers continuing on toward Waterwheel Falls, the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, or the Ten Lakes Basin. Any overnight stay in Yosemite's backcountry requires a wilderness permit — reservations release on a rolling schedule through the season, with a portion of each day's quota held back for walk-ups at the Tuolumne Meadows Wilderness Center. Bear-resistant food canisters are required on every overnight trip, and campsites need to be a legal distance from trailheads and roads.

What to expect

The lake itself is shallow, cold even in mid-summer, and framed by open granite rather than dense forest. Day-trippers are rare here; this is backpacker territory, best planned as part of a multi-day loop rather than a quick out-and-back.