Hiking to Mount Conness in Tuolumne Meadows
Hiking to Mount Conness in Tuolumne Meadows
Introductory Overview
Hiking to Mount Conness (12,590 feet) from Tuolumne Meadows offers one of the most rewarding alpine adventures in Yosemite National Park and the adjacent Inyo National Forest. This challenging trek combines stunning high-altitude scenery, sweeping granite landscapes, and exhilarating ridge walking. The hike allows you to experience a lesser-traveled but spectacular part of the Sierra Nevada, with panoramic views of Yosemite Valley, Mono Lake, and the Cathedral Range. Hikers should be prepared for steep climbs, route-finding challenges, and possible exposure to high winds.
Adventure Guide To Hiking to Mount Conness
Trailhead and Route Options
-
Saddlebag Lake Trailhead (Easier Route):
- Begins near Saddlebag Lake, outside Tuolumne Meadows.
- 10-12 miles round trip with about 4,000 feet of elevation gain.
- Follows a class 2 route (scrambling but no technical climbing required).
- Key landmarks: Sawmill Campground, alpine meadows, and Conness Lakes before reaching the summit ridge.
-
Young Lakes Route (More Challenging):
- 15+ miles round trip, with complex route-finding and exposed ridges.
- Best for experienced backcountry hikers comfortable with off-trail navigation.
- Spectacular views of Young Lakes and Ragged Peak along the way.
Key Features and Highlights
- Conness Lakes: Crystal-clear alpine lakes below the summit, offering a perfect resting spot.
- Panoramic Summit Views: Includes a full 360-degree perspective of Yosemite high country, White Mountains, and even distant peaks like Mount Ritter.
- Wildlife Sightings: Keep an eye out for marmots, pika, and golden eagles along the way.
Local Insights
- Historic Mining Sites: The area around Mount Conness once hosted early 20th-century mining operations, remnants of which can still be found along old routes.
- Changing Weather: Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer—plan to summit early and descend before storms build.
Visitor Tips
- Best Time to Hike: July–September, when snow has melted but crowds remain low.
- What to Bring:
- Layers for unpredictable temperatures.
- Plenty of water (no reliable filtering sources near the summit).
- GPS, map, and compass to aid navigation.
- Driving Directions:
- From Tuolumne Meadows, drive 10 miles east on Tioga Road to Saddlebag Lake Road, then another 2 miles to the trailhead. Travel time: 20 minutes.
Adventure Map
Reviews
Corbin Trincheraa year ago
Amazing free solo
September 14 2023
anmol kamboj5 years ago
Mount Conness is a 12,590 foot (3,840 m) mountain in the Sierra Nevada range, to the west of the Hall Natural Area. Conness is on the boundary between the Inyo National Forest and Yosemite National Park. The Conness Glacier lies north of the summit.Conness is a training ground for alpine climbing since it utilizes all aspects of mountaineering: trails, scrambling, and glacier trekking; all at a high altitude for California. Usually climbers camp near Tioga Pass and begin the climb at dawn. It takes about a full day to summit.
The summit block consists of class 2 scrambling along a knife edge ridge leading to the summit consisting of views to the east of the Conness Glacier and to the west toward Tuolumne Meadows.Mount Conness is named for John Conness (1821–1909), a native of Ireland who came to United States in 1836.[6][7] Conness was a member of California legislature (1853–1854, 1860–1861) and the United States Senator from California (1863–1869). He resided in Massachusetts from 1869 until his death in 1909.[8]
In 1860 Josiah Dwight Whitney, Jr. was appointed State Geologist of California and he organized the California Geological Survey (1863–1870). Whitney, along with William H. Brewer, Clarence King, James T. Gardiner, Charles F. Hoffmann, Lorenzo G. Yates, Richard D. Cotter and others, made an extensive survey of California, including the Sierra Nevada and Yosemite region. Whitney wrote:
"Mount Conness bears the name of a distinguished citizen of California, now a United States Senator, who deserves more than any other person, the credit of carrying the bill, organizing the Geological Survey of California, through the Legislature, and who is chiefly to be credited for another great scientific work, the Survey of the 40th Parallel."[9]
In We Go2 years ago
7/23/22- Mt. Conness North Ridge to Summit Loop Hike/Climb. The day stared out clear and beautiful, but by late morning smoke from the Oak Fire in Mariposa County had settled in and made visibility and breathing difficult. We took our time to enjoy the day so it took us over 12 hours to complete the loop. Trailhead starts at Saddlebag Lake dam. Free overnight parking at Saddlebag Trailhead parking area (adjacent to group campground which requires reservations). Pit toilets are located between trailhead parking lot and group campground. Trail from Saddlebag Lake passes alpine lakes (bring a water filter) and meadows and is in good condition and well traveled. To summit Mt. Conness from the north ridge requires hiking up the scree slope on a faint or nonexistent trail, then scrambling a narrow boulder topped ridge line. The ridge line leads to two pinnacles on the north face of the summit. These are 4th class scrambling but could be aided with ropes. Two rappels are set up on natural anchors with rope and webbing on the second pinnacle to descend to the first section of the climb. The climb to the summit is 5th class. Because of exposure, most people will want to ascend the entire north face with ropes (no climbing shoes needed) but some sections can easily be scrambled up to the summit without ropes. After signing the register, proceed to scramble down the East ridge. There are some rock steps set up making the path easy to find but after the rock scrambling section there is a flat dirt expanse which has many faint trails going east and south, follow trail and cairns going east, this route will eventually merge with the out and back hike listed on AllTrails as Mt. Conness. Again the trail is faint or nonexistent. Aim for the valley with a series of small alpine lakes. A trail picks up near the lakes and descends along a waterfall into another much larger valley. Again it’s hard to pick out a well trafficked trail until you reach the valley floor. This trail will lead to the Saw Mill campground where you can follow the road back up to the saddlebag trailhead parking lot (or like we did, start bushwhacking through the forest and across a stream to the Lee Vining Creek canyon and then ascend the slope to the road across the street from the trailhead parking lot).
Tina Nguyen3 years ago
Mount Conness is a 12,590-foot high peak in the Sierra Nevada range. It is located on the boundary between the Inyo National Forest and Eastern Yosemite National Park. The Conness Glaciers are phenomenal..
I hiked Conness for the first time on May/10/2021.
The trail is 7.4 miles out and back and has 3,080 ft of elevation gain.
It is a good workout trail.
I started at the Sawmill Campground, hiking up towards Alpine Lake.
The first 1.5 miles was 500 ft of elevation gain, it was not challenging for me but I had a difficult time finding the trail since the ground was covered by both snow and ice.
I actually ended up near White Mountain instead of Alpine Lake.
The views of White Mountain are spectacular, but the high altitude was killing me.
I didn’t see any hikers, as I think I was there a little early in the season, as it's best to aim to go hike this area between June and September.
I’ll give Conness another try sometime in the middle to late summer as that will give me time to acclimate and prepare myself for it..
NATURE + free = HEAVEN!!!
Jason Brent6 years ago
One of the finest hikes to be had. It can be a slog on the ascent but you'll be glad you made the trek, views are amazing.
