Cloud's Rest - June 2022
Summary
The Cloud’s Rest trail that we hiked was an out and back trail in Yosemite National Park in California. This hike starts near Tenaya Lake and ends at the top of Cloud’s Rest. Cloud’s Rest offers unique perspectives of Half Dome, Yosemite Valley and parts of Yosemite National Park that many do not see given it’s rugged terrain.
We ended up hiking the out and back linked above. There are other routes to Cloud’s Rest, however we had already hiked two times up the Yosemite Valley, so we chose to start from a different part of the park.
Where
The Cloud’s Rest Trail is located in Yosemite National Park in California. It is a trail that starts near Tenaya Lake on your way to Tuolomne Meadows and climbs up to scenic views of El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and Sentinel Dome.
Logistics
This was our last day hike in Yosemite National Park. We started the day very early as this day required quite a bit of driving. Being that we stayed in North Pines Campground, we needed to drive about an hour and a half to the trailhead. From the campground, we followed the one-way loop until we could start to head towards the exit of the park. Before exiting, we detoured towards Tuolomne Meadows and climbed up out of the valley. This was a nice change of pace considering the past two days we had hiked out of the valley. Additionally, we realized being in a different part of the park in the early morning, we would be starting in cold temperatures.
Hiking
We arrived at the trailhead right around 7:30AM. This hike has various sections of climbs, descents and flat hiking as it is not in the valley. The terrain changed back and forth from wooded to open and vast rock formations. From the beginning we realized we would be hiking in solitude compared to the past few days in the valley. After talking to some regulars of the park, many do not leave the valley upon visiting the park and that was obvious on the day we hiked to Cloud’s Rest. On the way out, we only saw 1 group, which made for quite the quiet experience to start the day.
Cloud’s Rest was the day hike I was looking most forward to. After a few pictures and research, it was clear to me the views would be incredible and the crowds would likely be low. With about a mile to the summit, things really opened up and you could see for miles. The best part about this section was the realization of the vast mountainous regions on all sides of the park. From the valley, and from various perspectives over the past few days, we really hadn’t had an opportunity like this to fully take in the size of the region we were enjoying.
After reflecting on the views and the presence of such beautiful mountains, we started our initial ascent to the summit. Cloud’s Rest had more of a ridge and exposure than I had anticipated, however it was certainly manageable with minimal focus required. Lately I have really enjoyed bouldering and scrambling and the ridge at the approach to the summit did not disappoint! We knew we were getting close as the wind increased and the surrounding terrain decreased.
Upon reaching the summit of Cloud’s Rest, it was clear why this hike and this location are at the top of many people’s list. The 360 views of the park, Half Dome, and a new perspective of the valley were incredible. At the top of Cloud’s Rest you can detour to various outlooks depending on which view you find most interesting. We took quite a bit of time taking in all of the different angles that the summit offered, however reflecting on Half Dome and the valley after having spent 3 days in the park was certainly the focus for me.
It was hard to start the initial descent back to the trailhead, but even coming down provided new excitement. Given the vast approach, you could actually see Tenaya Lake from the initial descent, which really helped to put the hike and view into perspective. We spent the last two hours of the hike reflecting on the day and the trip as a whole. It was our last full day in the park and it couldn’t have ended any better. As we finished the hike, we drove to Tenaya Lake for our lunch spot and slowly drove back into the valley, stopping at the scenic overlooks along the way.
I would highly recommend this hike. It was my favorite hike of the trip and one of my favorite day hikes to date. It offered a lot of variety in views and terrain and the sense of accomplishment from summiting a mountain, combined with the vast views of the park could not have been any better!
Photos
All photos were taken with my current phone at the time, which was the iPhone 12 Pro.
