Merced Lake

Merced Lake sits at 7,150 feet, about 13 miles into Yosemite's backcountry from the Valley floor, reached only on foot via the Mist Trail or John Muir Trail through Little Yosemite Valley. It's one of the largest lakes in Yosemite, a broad, calm stretch of river-fed water ringed by forest and granite, with the crowds thinning out fast the farther you go. This isn't a casual walk: it's a full, strenuous day of hiking with roughly 3,000 feet of net elevation gain, and most people spread it over two or three days rather than treating it as a single day hike.

Permits and Safety

Day hikes don't require a permit, but any overnight stay in the wilderness near the lake does. Wilderness permits can be reserved up to 24 weeks in advance, with more released closer to your trip date and some held back for trailhead walk-ups. The Merced River along this route is snowmelt-fed and runs cold and fast well into summer — stay back from the banks near the cascades and footbridges.

Merced Lake High Sierra Camp

Merced Lake was the first of Yosemite's High Sierra Camps, established in 1916 and the most remote in the network. It's been closed since 2018 for water and sanitation infrastructure work, and unlike a few other High Sierra Camps that briefly reopened in 2024, Merced Lake's has stayed shut — its status for 2026 was still unconfirmed as of this writing. Backpackers can still camp near the lake with a valid wilderness permit regardless of the camp's status.