May Lake Trailhead

May Lake Trailhead sits at the end of a narrow, roughly 1.2-mile spur road off Tioga Road, at nearly 8,700 feet elevation. It's the start of one of Yosemite's shortest routes into true alpine scenery — a lake at the foot of Mount Hoffmann — and the easiest access point to any of the park's High Sierra Camps for backpackers heading in.

May Lake

The hike to May Lake runs about 2.4 miles round trip with roughly 500 feet of elevation gain, climbing steadily through lodgepole pine to a clear lake backed by granite cliffs. Most hikers finish in one to two hours. May Lake High Sierra Camp sits on the eastern shore — widely considered the easiest of Yosemite's High Sierra Camps to reach on foot.

Mount Hoffmann

Strong hikers often continue past the lake on an unmaintained use trail to the 10,845-foot summit of Mount Hoffmann, close to the geographic center of the park. That extension turns the trip into a roughly 6-mile round trip with about 2,000 feet of additional gain, ending on open granite with views toward Half Dome, Clouds Rest, and Tuolumne Meadows.

Good to Know

• Both Tioga Road and the trailhead's spur road close seasonally with snow, typically reopening sometime between late May and June and closing again by November.
• A vault toilet is available at the trailhead, but there's no potable water — carry what you need.
• The day hike to May Lake doesn't require a permit; continuing overnight past the lake, toward Snow Creek or elsewhere, does.