View on Tenaya Lake

Tenaya Lake sits at 8,150 feet along Tioga Road, about 2 miles east of Olmsted Point and 16 miles west of the Tioga Pass entrance. It's one of the most accessible alpine lakes in the park — you drive right up to it instead of hiking in — and the view from either parking area is a wide sheet of blue-green water framed by bare granite, with Tenaya Peak to the east and Polly Dome and Pywiack Dome to the north.

The view and the shoreline

A shoreline path connects the east and west parking areas, an easy, mostly flat walk if you want a different angle on the lake without committing to a real hike. The east end has a sandy beach that draws swimmers and paddlers on warm afternoons, and calm early mornings are the best time for photos of the domes reflected in the water, before the wind picks up.

When to go

• Tioga Road is seasonal — typically open roughly June through October depending on snowpack, and gated closed the rest of the year.
• Check the park's current road-status page before planning a shoulder-season trip; exact opening and closing dates shift year to year.
• The water stays cold even in midsummer since the lake sits above 8,000 feet — expect a jolt if you wade in past your ankles.

Nearby

The Sunrise Lakes/Clouds Rest trailhead starts from the lake's west-end parking lot, so if the shoreline view has you wanting elevation, the climb toward Clouds Rest delivers a wide look back down at the lake and Tenaya Canyon.