Yosemite Cathedral Lakes

This hike wasn’t too strenuous for a beginner like myself. It’s about an 8 mile hike roundtrip. The trail begins with a steep incline then levels off. The fact that it wasn’t too difficult allowed my friends and I to admire the scenery instead of worrying about falling or tripping. Arriving at the destination was a little underwhelming because I was expecting more but the view of the lake was beautiful nonetheless.

Can’t in good conscience give this place more than 2*.
Why walk for 1+ hrs to see a lot of dead grass and trees, what looks like my kitchen’s granite counter tops (mine is polished better by far), and an ugly jaggedly cut hill? Even Francis would think this Cathedral unforgivable.
Save yourself lots of time and go somewhere else more scenic than this.

If only all of the hikes in Yosemite had this ratio of reward to effort. The two sustained uphill stretches of the hike are steeper than I expected, and the end of the hike is quite deceptive — it keeps feeling as if you’re «just about» to reach the lakes — and then you’re not there yet.
But, wow. This isn’t the first or only alpine cirque I’ve hiked to, but it was stunning beautiful and a great place to sunbathe, cool your feet, or even go for a peaceful (if frigid) swim.

While I was doing JMT, I had a sidetrip to Cathedral lake. Just 0.5 mile from JMT.
Cathedral Peak is in the back of Cathedral Lake. The scenery was so beautiful.

This is a relatively easy 7 mi hike which is a stone’s throw away from the Tuolumne Meadows Campgrounds and a perfect all-​day hike where you just can relax and enjoy nature.
The first part of the hike had some pretty gnarly elevation gain. I appreciated my poles and hiking shoes for the steep ascent and later descent but the majority of my group just did it sans poles and in running shoes. I’d say the latter 70% of the hike up to the lake (s) is pretty flat and easygoing!
I found that the scenery was pretty nice along the entire length of the trail but nothing compared to the Lower Lake. The lake itself was beautiful and I spent a few minutes just pondering life while sitting lakeside. It was super tranquil with terrific weather. You can easily see Cathedral Peak too from the lake area which made for some great photo opportunities. A couple of my friends waded into the lake while some other hikers said that they had a nice swim. We didn’t visit the Upper Lake since we were pretty dog tired after relaxing at the Lower. We even saw some tents pitched by the lake which looked super fun.
I would definitely do this hike again when I visit Yosemite!

Magnificent. Glorious. Spectacular. And a little mountain sickness.
The trailhead does not scream at you here I am like others, so be watchful after Tenaya Lake. It is not crowded at all. We saw one couple on the trail. She looked like the Indy Car driver Danica Patrick. The hike is a 7 mile round trip hike at an elevation about 8500 feet and ending at the lake where it is 9800 feet. Bring lots of water.
It is a good hike for beginner hikers like myself and my friends. It is very scenic and you most likely will see wildlife. On the way to the lake, we saw a family of deer and at the lake we saw a beaver. Along the way, there are numerous Kodak moments of towering rock structures.
For some reason I could not hang with the girls. I work out regularly and I am the only one getting mountain sickness from the elevation. Next time, I will one up the female sex in hiking, but this time I was lagging behind. I kept pushing forward. After a bit, Alleluia, thank the Lord, we made it. This is where Danica Patrick (look a like) took a group picture for us. It was an amazingly still lake with huge gray mountains flanking it on all sides. It was pleasant and serene over at Cathedral Lake.
A little bit of heaven on earth.