Distance: 2.5 miles (4 km) round trip
Trailhead Elevation: 8,500 feet (2,550 meters)
Pothole Dome Elevation: 8,760 feet (2,670 meters)
Elevation Gain: 250 feet (75 meters)
The red line shows the route of the Pothole Dome trail, starting from Tioga Pass Road at the western edge of Tuolumne Meadows. The left fork takes you up and over the dome itself, and the right fork leads along the edge of the meadow to the Tuolumne River.
There's no official trail to the top of the dome, but you should be able to find a safe route without much trouble. Once you climb off the dome again, you have a fair chance of finding the trail that leads north to the river, but if not, head north or east to reach the river (or if you don't trust your sense of direction, head back the way you came until you reach the trail, just east of the dome, that follows the western edge of the meadow).
There's a series of picturesque cascades in the Tuolumne River at the north edge of the trail, and assuming you're hiking clockwise, from this point you'll follow the river upstream into Tuolumne Meadows and then hike along its edge back south to the trailhead, with memorable views all along the way.
Loose Ends: The trail due north of this trail leads to Glen Aulin. You can't reach it from here without fording the Tuolumne River. The lake that can't quite fit into the right edge of the map is Dog Lake. The little blue smudge in the center of Tuolumne Meadows is the world's most alluring sewage pond.