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10 Lakes Trailhead-Directions from Fresno ???

PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 12:16 pm
by marcorlouis
I am flying from Arizona to Fresno then onto Yosemite and plan to do a 3 night backpackign trip to 10 Ten Lakes & May Lake. My question is, what's the best route to take? Does the beginning of the trailhead have a parking lot? Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated. Marco

Re: 10 Lakes Trailhead-Directions from Fresno ???

PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 2:56 pm
by dan
There's two trailheads you can take from the Tioga Road. Look at a map. One trailhead starts from the north shore of Tenaya Lake. There's a dirt parking lot on the south side of the road, which is also used by day visitors to the Lake.

Another trailhead starts about a half mile from the west end of Tenaya Lake. There's also a dirt parking lot for this trailhead on the south side of the road. It's not as busy as the Tenaya Lake trailhead.

The fastest route is probably to take 99 north from Fresno to 140 east to Yosemite, then to 120 (Tioga Road). You can also take 41 north, but it's slower. OTOH, it goes by Mariposa Grove (Sequoias) and the Glacier Point road, if you have time to see one of those also (I'd recommend visiting Glacier Point either coming or going if you have time).

Don't leave any food in your car--take it with you or leave in the bear lockers in the parking lot.

Re: 10 Lakes Trailhead-Directions from Fresno ???

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2007 5:33 pm
by Clamper
marcorlouis wrote:I am flying from Arizona to Fresno then onto Yosemite and plan to do a 3 night backpackign trip to 10 Ten Lakes & May Lake. My question is, what's the best route to take? Does the beginning of the trailhead have a parking lot? Any thoughts or feedback would be appreciated. Marco


You may also consider using the Ten Lakes trailhead from Tioga Road at Yosemite Creek. There is paved parking on one side of the road, and an overflow lot on the opposite side.

I believe that May Lake has a High Sierra Camp. That would mean the you either must have reservations to camp there, or plan on camping a certain distance from it, about a mile I think.

If you're considering a loop trip, then three days would mean plenty of hiking each day. There is some significant mileage and elevation changes to deal with. For me, three days is possible, but I would prefer another day at least.

The Ten Lakes basin is worth a day or two by itself. From the Yosemite Creek trailhead, it (or nearby Grant lakes) can be made in one day. It combines several alpine jewel lakes (with trout) within easy hike from each other, and a breathtaking (literaly for some, as it at about 9,500 ft) view at the top of the saddle between Yosemite Creek and the basin.