May Lake & Mt. Hoffman
Distance: 2.5 miles (4 km) round trip to May Lake; 6 miles (9.6 km) if you climb Mt. Hoffman as well
Elevation at trailhead: 8,800 feet (2,640 meters)
May Lake Elevation: 9,270 feet (2,825 meters)
Mt. Hoffman Elevation: 10,845 feet (3,305 meters)
Elevation Gain: 500 feet (150 meters) to May Lake; 2,000 feet (600 meters) to Mt. Hoffman
Hiking Time: 1.5 - 4 hours
Why hike to May Lake? To see the only lake that, we can say with some certainty, got a geologist some action. George Hoffman, a member of the 1863-67 Whitney Geological Survey, named the lake after Lucy Mayotta Browne. In what was surely a related matter, Browne married Hoffman in 1870. And is it just a coincidence that May Lake nestles in the lap of 10,845-foot Mt. Hoffman? Not likely. Mr. Hoffman appears to have been a man with a direct and pointed imagination.
Best Time to Visit: Whenever the Tioga Pass Road is open - typically June through October; see our Road Conditions page for the road's historical opening and closing dates
Difficulty: It's a short hike to May Lake, but it starts at a high elevation and climbs steadily to the lake. We rate it a 5 out of 10, excluding Mt. Hoffman.
Scenery Factor: Like so many of Yosemite's high lakes, May Lake rests at the base of striking granite cliffs (Mt. Hoffman, in this case), giving it a memorably picturesque backdrop. Unlike other lakes, though, May Lake's low side gives way not to forest, but to a dropoff that looks over the Tioga Road area all the way to Clouds Rest and Tenaya Lake, a bonus that makes this one of Yosemite's most scenic lake hikes.
Crowd Factor: You won't be alone here, since it's a fairly short hike and the May Lake High Sierra camp sits along the eastern shore. But it's not nearly as crowded as it would be if it were, like Mirror Lake, right next to Yosemite Valley.
Parking: Lot at the trailhead
Nearest Restrooms: At the trailhead
Nearest Snacks: At the far end of Tuolumne Meadows, 13 miles (21 km) east
Getting There: From Yosemite Valley, take highway 120 ten miles (16.8 km) to the Crane Flat turnoff onto Tioga Road, then take Tioga Road 28 miles (44.8 km) east to the May Lake turnoff. From Yosemite's east entrance at Tioga Pass, take the Tioga Road west 20 miles (32 km) to the turnoff. From the turnoff, it's 1.8 miles (2.9 km) to the trailhead parking lot.
May Lake Photos
 Mt. Hoffman |
 Facing Southwest |
 Also Mt. Hoffman |
If you like May Lake, check out:
|
Tenaya Lake A gorgeous lake right around the corner |
Tioga Road Trails More hikes in the May Lake area |
Half Dome More far-ranging high-country views |