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    North Dome

    4.8 (17 reviews)

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    View towards North Dome & Half Dome
    Erin S.

    Wow, what a view! If you're too scared to do Half Dome like me (I pooped out partway up the cables), but you want amazing views, North Dome is the hike for you. I started from El Capitan the day before on a 4 day backpacking trip so I can't comment on the hike from Tioga Road to North Dome. But if you are in decent shape, you should give this hike a try. We scored an amazing campsite just up from North Dome with an incredible view of Yosemite Valley, Cloud's Rest, Glacier Point, & Half Dome. What a gorgeous sight watching the sun set on Half Dome. The 0.5 mile hike out to the dome from the trail marker is steep & gravelly, so I was glad we decided not to hike down there with our packs (we were also told there is no camping on North Dome, but we did see a few campsites tucked away in the trees). We hiked out to the dome before heading out that morning & had the whole place to ourselves. Amazing! Add this hike to your list of Yosemite Domes.

    fawn seen on the walk through the forested part of the trail
    Katy W.

    This review is for the hike more than the view(s). So, I am not a hiker by nature. I have been trying to commune with my inner crunchie self with some progress, but I still think any normal person considers a 10 mile walk, a 10 mile walk whether it's flat or not. This hike is not flat. There are some pretty good descriptions here except that I think the last 0.75 miles are pretty much straight down. Since my husband called this an 'easy' hike and we stopped for lunch at the highest point (not North Dome) and thought maybe we were done, I was none too happy to continue downward. Had we turned around at this point, I would have considered it a good stretch of the legs, a little long, but not bad at all. However, the additional hike pretty much turned it into a very challenging, hot, sweaty hike. The views: well, at our lunch spot, I thought we had some pretty amazing 360 views, but we weren't actually at North Dome. With an additional 40 mins or so we did have some amazing views of Half Dome plus Yosemite Valley and Ililouette Falls (although all a little hazy). Would I say it was worth it? I guess so if you are prepared for a moderately difficult hike between the difficulty and the length. We had climbed Yosemite Falls this past spring, my first major hike and I was probably in better shape, and I think it might not be that different in difficulty (only slightly easier). The fault might lie with my husband though because I think if I had read these descriptions I probably would have been better mentally prepared for the hike.

    Thats a pretty steep 0.5 miles
    David D.

    North Dome is a great hike and the trails have almost no traffic. The drive up Tioga road is a little cumbersome but its well worth it. Its a casual/moderate 10 mile round-trip adventure. The trail loses elevation for the first mile and flattens out until you get to an opening where you can see Half Dome. The view is amazing and you start getting out of the woods at the Indian Arch fork. By the way, I HIGHLY recommend taking the 0.5 miles to the Indian Arch. The rock formation looks like an indian smoking a pipe. It took a few minutes but then it was obvious. Watch out for the africanized mosquitoes, those things are brutal around the few creeks you have to cross.

    View from North Dome hike and "home" for the evening camping under the stars (instagram.com/gregandozzy
    Maxine M.

    Bf and I (www.instagram.com/gregandozzy) went backpacking and camped our first night at North Dome. We started the trek in late afternoon at Porcupine Trailhead (equipped with trash cans and bathrooms), and although it was a holiday weekend, we got lucky with parking as hikers returned from their day hikes. The 4.4 miles from trailhead to North Dome were mostly woodsy and shaded with little incline - moderate and doable even for the non-hiker. Arriving at North Dome was the highlight. The expansive views of the valley and the mountains on the other side coupled with the sound of the waterfall were breathtaking. We arrived around sunset and set up camp, feeling "on top of the world" atop the plateau. Tioga Pass had just reopened for the summer two days prior to our trip, so we had the outlook almost all to ourselves, but expect it to be packed. Highly recommended.

    Cairn with a view of half dome

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    Review Highlights - North Dome

    You can look out to see Clouds Rest, you can see across the Valley, you can even see the hikers on Half Dome.

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    Yosemite Family Adventures - Cathedral Lake in the High country of Yosemite

    Yosemite Family Adventures

    4.6(11 reviews)
    8.4 mi

    Dave is AMAZING! We had the best day with him on our private tour of Yosemite. He is so fun,…read moreknowledgeable, a great conversationalist and made the day fabulous. I had the best time and felt like we got to really see Yosemite and get to know the park. I would 100% recommend booking with him and his company. Hands down the BEST!!

    I cannot say enough about David and the two days he spent with us in the park. It was our first…read moretrip to Yosemite and David planned two great days that really gave us a feel for the incredible natural beauty that surrounds you in the Valley. While you can only see so much in two days, his skillful guiding made the most of that time covering the multiple waterfalls in the valley, the Sequoia Grove, Hatch Hatchy and many others. He is a self taught naturalist and gave us just the right mix of park history and insights into the floral and fauna. He also balanced our hiking so it was challenging enough to keep me interested but not to difficult that Thelma could not enjoy it as well. He was also terrific about assisting her through some of the more difficult and rocky sections so she was never uncomfortable. His planning was simply impeccable and more than worth every penny as we could never have enjoyed as much as we did on our own. There is just no substitute for having a professional guide a Dave was as professional as it gets. Simply cannot thank him enough and more highly recommend him to anyone who wants an extraordinary experience.

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    Mountain Trekking Adventures

    Mountain Trekking Adventures

    5.0(3 reviews)
    98.0 mi

    Pani was our guide for our visit to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks in June of 2025. It was…read moreour first visit to the area, and we wanted a guide to help us experience the parks in the most fun and educational way, so we could get the most out of our time. Pani was incredibly communicative and was flexible with us when we decided to split our visit across two days instead of just one. Pani was easy to talk with, knowledgeable about the parks, and passionate about the history and ecology. We learned so much on our adventure, and Pani was always willing to take pics for us everywhere we went. Thank you Pani for making our vacation so special and memorable!

    An awesome family tour of Sequoia National Park enriched with an excellent tour guide, Pani of…read moremountain trekking adventures! We all learned so much about the history and geology of this vast Park. Having a knowledgeable tour guide really eliminates any stress of searching for features you want to see! Our party of 10 agreed we had the best park trip ever with Pani guiding us through the exceptional features of Sequoia national park. We are spoiled now and highly recommend mountain trekking adventures for anyone going to the Sequoia national Park or Kings Canyon national parks.

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    Mountain Trekking Adventures - Fun can always be found on our hikes

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    Mountain Trekking Adventures - Kings Canyon is over 8000ft deep in some spots, we will take you through it with special stops all along the way.

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    YExplore Yosemite Adventures - Heads in the Clouds on Sentinel Dome

    YExplore Yosemite Adventures

    4.8(37 reviews)
    7.5 mi

    Our tour guides were absolutely amazing (John and Mia) and they were very knowledgeable and helped…read moreanswer all of our questions (about Yosemite in general, specific famous features on our hike, and even random questions about birds and plant life). The hike is as advertised (in terms of ratings and what features you will see). They always put safety first and even offered to help carry our back packs when we got tired or were crossing a small stream! They treated us like close family/friends, were encouraging us along the way, and adapted to our pace and schedule. Our group ranged from age 6 to adult and we couldn't have made it to the end of the hike without them! Book them for your tours and have fun on your Yosemite Vacation!

    Will definitely be booking again with John and Y Explore!!! Honestly when we booked the guided half…read moredome hike I went into it thinking we were just utilizing the purchased permits as hadn't won the lottery ourselves but as the day progressed I became more and more grateful for the wisdom and knowledge of our guide. From breathing techniques and tips for ascending and descending the cables to the order of of our group and perfectly timed rest breaks this was worth every penny as we had not only a successful summit but an overwhelming positive experience! Hubby and I are excited to travel again to more destination with Y Explore in the near future!

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    YExplore Yosemite Adventures - Half Dome

    Half Dome

    YExplore Yosemite Adventures - Yosemite North Dome Adventure

    Yosemite North Dome Adventure

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    Sun on Half Dome

    North Dome - hiking - Updated May 2026

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