Elizabeth Lake Trail Hiker Reviews

I did this hike October 20th. 60 degree temps and hardly any people.

I am 70 years old, in so-so shape. No hike is "easy" for me, unless it's totally flat. So I had to stop several times on this hike to catch my breath on the 900 foot elevation gain. But it was worth it. A pretty little lake with a peninsula of land jutting into it, and next to interesting mountains. I saw several fish in the lake, one very colorful. So maybe Rainbow Trout?

I parked at the Visitor Center, which was closed (road sign said "Parson's Lodge"), and took the trail near the closed restrooms marked "Campground" (campground closed) 0.9 miles to the lake's trailhead. Uphill from there most of the way.

A nice hike.

I hiked to Lake Elizabeth one August back in the early 1970s while camping in Tuolomne Meadows. There was a huge "permanent" glacier surrounding the lake. So sad to see much of it gone. One of my fondest memories.

A very easy hike from the campground. The lake is very stunning with the surrounding peaks bathed in alpine glow. Bring a camara. Wait for the light quality to change and the wind to drop. It's worth it! For the intrepid find the trail past the lake up to the ridge line. One of the top 10 views in the park. Be warned once on the ridge you will lust after all the hiking possibilities visible from the ridge line.

When we hiked this trail it was great, back in the day I was in pretty good shape so I don't remember it being hard. I do remember that the trail was well taken care of, and I remember fresh water springs from the ground. It was in July so it was pretty warm and I couldn't wait to get to the lake to take a swim. When we got there the friends I was with wouldn't go in so I was the only one to go in. It was very cold but it was worth it. The whole experience was very special.

A group of Yosemite, Mammoth Lakes and Tuolumne lovers headed to Lake Elizabeth, taking along my Dad on his 78th birthday! The campground (behind the ranger station right past Lembert Dome coming from Tioga Pass) gave us free passes to park behind the 49th camp site for our day hike. The trail is beautifully maintained, with varying terrain; enough flat trail to tolerate all the uphill trail areas, nice shade for the heat and even some small meadows. We even saw 3 deer grazing along the trail!

In our group we had an 8 year old and a 78 year old, not to mention the avid hikers, the chubby housewife and the retired forest ranger....all able to reach the lake. 3 different websites gave 3 different descriptions on level of difficulty and length but we reached the lake within 2 hours of hiking (remember we had plenty of stops with our age differences and altitude challenges (oxygen!).) The trail puts you right on the lake and makes for a great view to eat lunch. It's a big lake just below Unicorn Peak (that's Cathedral Peak, I believe).

I was encouraged to see the signs cautioning the hikers not to trample the alpine moss(?) and edges of the lake. The signs, however, were very small and easily missed. The water was pristine, the mountains looming overhead glorious and the raucous blue jays chattering away!

I would recommend this hike as it gives such great views, cool water to soothe the tired feet and sublime quiet to remind ourselves the importance of such moments. This world of ours doesn't encourage feeling humble or insignificant...we reveled in that feeling as our senses were overwhelmed with all things beautiful!

sidenote... the rest of our group climbed Mt Dana. They all reached the top too! It was a great day!

This is good introductory hike for folks who want to get a taste of the isolated high country. It's the first one I ever did out of Tuolumne Meadows-proper, and it gave me a taste for more.

First two miles is hiking through forest at a pretty good upward clip. It then flattens out into a meadow/forest/streamside scenario for a mile before you reach the lake. Good-size lake, with beautiful high sierra peaks set all around it. Don't be suprised to see fishermen and swimmers doing their thing up there as well.

My wife and I hiked this trail last summer and thought it was fantastic! Great views and we had the entire trail and lake to ourselves for reflection and exploring for the entire time we were there. We left for our hike about 8:30am and never bumped into anyone until our return from the Lake about 11am - and then an entire line of hikers (~15 - 20 spread out) were on this trail (a few which would never make it due to their own physical conditions). The trick it seems on any of these hikes in and around these destinations is to wake up early, hit the trail no later than 8am or 8:30, and you will not have any crowd issues typically.