Hike Lembert Dome

Lembert Dome Trail

To Lembert Dome is 2.8 miles round trip.

“A lot of view for relatively little effort” would be one way to characterize the hike up 9,450-foot Lembert Dome, which looks absolutely impossible to scale when regarding it from the trailhead.

For the time-short (but not stamina-short) traveler, able to do only one quick hike in the Tuolomne Meadows area, this is the one to do. You’ll have Tuolomne Meadows at your feet, and a parade of peaks from Cathedral Peak all the way to Mt. Dana at Tioga Pass.

Geologists say Lembert Dome, located at the east end of Tuolomne Meadows, is not a true dome (such as Sentinel Dome) but a roche moutoonee; the French phrase “rock sheep” describes a glacier-carved formation recognized by its sheer front and sloping back.

The roche moutonee was named for shepherd/naturalist Jean Baptiste Lembert who worked for a decade in Tuolomne Meadows, beginning in 1885. An unsolved mystery to this day is who shot him dead in his cabin--and why--in 1896.  Another pleasant path beginning from the Lembert Dome trailhead, is the one leading to Dog Lake. The shallow lake, one of Yosemite’s warmest, attracts swimmers and picnickers.

Directions to trailhead: From Tioga Road (Highway 120) at the east end of Tuolomne Meadows, located the Lembert Dome parking area on the north side of the road.

The hike: Head north 0.1 mile to a junction. Dog Lake Trail forks left, while Lembert Dome Trail leads right, ascending through lodgepole pine forest to a saddle.

Once you leave the sandy, dusty trail behind and begin traveling over bare granite, ducts mark the route.

Choose among a couple routes over the bare rock to gain the summit, which can be very windy. Hold onto your hat and stay back from the edge!