Nelson Lake

Nelson Lake is a glacier-carved pool tucked into the Cathedral Range, reached only by leaving the maintained trail system behind. It's a genuine cross-country destination — a solid choice for backpackers comfortable with a map and compass, and not the spot to attempt your first off-trail trip.

Getting There

The route starts at the Elizabeth Lake Trailhead, at the back of the B loop in Tuolumne Meadows Campground. A maintained trail climbs about 1,000 feet to Elizabeth Lake, at the foot of Unicorn Peak. From there, the trail ends — reaching Nelson Lake means crossing a low pass between Johnson Peak and Cockscomb, then dropping cross-country into the lake's basin. AllTrails logs the full round trip at about 10.9 miles with 2,536 feet of elevation gain, a hard outing that typically takes 6 to 6.5 hours.

Permits

Overnight camping isn't allowed at Elizabeth Lake itself, so a permit request needs to name Nelson Lake, or a destination beyond it, as the actual plan — the wilderness office issues permits against the Elizabeth Lake Trailhead quota once your onward route is clear. A Yosemite wilderness permit is required for any overnight stay, reservable online up to 168 days ahead, and a same-day walk-up permit is often available for this route if you're ready for the cross-country stretch.

Best season is June through October, once high-country snow has cleared enough for safe routefinding.