Mt Dana, Yosemite NP

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Difficulty: Difficult
Length: 5.0 miles / 8.0 km
Duration: Half day

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Overview: You won't find the Mt. Dana Summit Trail on your National Park Service map and chances are you're unlikely to find it in your hiking guidebook either. What you will find on this trail however, is a challenging trip up the second highest peak in Yosemite National Park which rewards with some of the best panoramic views you'll experience anywhere.

Elevation gain:
• 3,200ft (from 9,900 - 13,053ft)

Tips:
• High elevation hikes can lead to altitude sickness. Acclimatization is the best way to avoid the ill effects, and always carry plenty of water (a good source of hydration AND oxygen) and painkillers.
• This is a challenging hike with an ascent of three thousand feet at high altitude. However it's thankfully a relatively short hike, and if you're acclimatized to the elevation and proceed at a steady comfortable pace you'll be standing on top of the world in no time.
• Tioga Pass road is generally closed Nov-May and trail conditions due to snow and ice may make this trail difficult even when the trail is open. Check with park rangers to confirm conditions.

Points of Interest

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Tioga Pass ranger station (9,945 ft)

Mt. Dana is situated by the Eastern entrance to Yosemite National Park. Parking is available just inside the park, on the West side of the highway.

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Mt. Dana Summit Trailhead

Though you're unlikely to find a sign pointing out the start of the trail, you'll have no trouble finding this well trodden route, which is located directly next to the ranger station.

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Picturesque alpine lakes

Your journey begins just under 10,000ft above sea level and quickly transports you away from the RV traffic of Route 120 and into an evergreen forest hiding lakes and wildflowers.

After a short while the pitch of the trail begins to steepen and the tree cover gradually thins out to nothing, exposing you to the elements for the rest of the hike.

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Great sweeping panoramas

At around the half-way mark the trail levels out for a time and the green vegetation becomes increasingly replaced by scree and small boulders.

Take the time to take in the views and get your breath back in this thin air. Keep an eye out for an occasional marmot here, too!

Here the well-defined trail breaks away into many trails, one for each hiker who figured they new a better way up the mountain I guess. Nevertheless, they all have the same destination - the 13,053ft summit of Mount Dana.

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The final push

The final push to the summit is definitely the hardest part of the hike, and not just because of the climb - the bouldered terrain makes more difficult to traverse.

Patience is key here. Stick to a gentle consistent pace however and you'll soon be at the top.

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Mt. Dana summit (13,053 ft)

You bagged yourself a thirteen thousand footer, congratulations!

Of course, the views from up here are stunning. Standing here on top of the Eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada mountains, Yosemite National Park dominates the skyline in three out of four directions whilst the Eastern view looks across over the volcanic landscape of the High Sierras and Mono Lake.

Pictures in this guide taken by: Trailspotting

Trailspotting content © Stuart Green 2010 including text, images, videos and route detail.

How does this work?

Tried to summit Mount Dana on 7/16/2011. The trail condition was ok with some snow on it. There was a big snow field at about 1,000 feet below the summit and you need to cross it to get to the ridgeline. After it, it is all clear to the summit. The thing I really hate about the hike is those countless boulders below the summit.
Visited on Jul 16, 2011

by jasonchiu on Jul 17, 2011