Hiking The Sentinel Dome Trail in Yosemite National Park
Imagine, if you will, that you are six years old. It is the late 1990’s, or maybe the year 2000. You’re probably about four feet tall, wear tee shirts with dinosaurs on them, and are afraid of the dark. You can confidently count to 100. Bear with me here.
You lead a comfy, middle class childhood. There’s plenty of toys, a pet cat, and a dog. Of the lot, one of your favorite distractions is a View Master-the Instagram of the 20th century. You’d stare into that things for hours, clicking through the images on the little cardboard disk. Of course, as you are the budding nature geek, you own the Yosemite edition.
Of all the pictures of waterfalls, giant sequoias, and other Yosemite Landmarks, one particular image stands out. It is of a lone tree, hunched and gnarled. It grows out of the rock on Sentinel Dome. It’s not quite as prolific as the other photos, but it sticks in your mind’s eye.
Later that Summer, your family is dragging you up a hike. At this age, you dislike hiking. It makes your little feet ache, and you can’t keep up with your long legged family members. After seemingly hours of unbearable toil and hardship, you finally reach the end of your death march-a flat topped dome with an incredible view.
Imagine your surprise when right there, in real life, is that weird, twisted tree. It’s shape, height, and appearance-all right before your eyes! You saw it in your toy. That’s dandy! You’re excited for a brief moment, but it is fleeting. Instead, you are looking forward to when you can go back to watching TV and eating PB&j’s.
Sentinel Dome, and It’s Famous Jeffrey Pine
Table of Contents
This recounting is brought to you by one of my oldest childhood memories- a family hike up Sentinel Dome. The memory is pretty fuzzy. There’s a 20-ish year gap between my childhood hike with my family, and my June, 2019 ascent. The only tangible part of my recall might be the presence of Sentinel Dome’s famous Jeffrey Pine.
The tree has been famously photographed by Ansel Adams, and probably thousands of visitors since then. It was killed in a drought in the 1970s, and did not finally fall until 2003. I guess I should probably consider myself lucky that I was able to see it while it was still standing. What remains of the Jeffrey Pine is still up on top of Sentinel Dome, lying in a contorted, scorpion-like pose. Go check it out.
I hope I didn’t bore you. Read on to learn more about hiking Sentinel Dome.
Stats
Distance: 1.1 miles from parking lot to Sentinel Dome’s Summit
Difficulty: Easy, but the trail features a small climb that some may find intimidating
Time to Hike: 15-20 minutes
Elevation Gain: 350 feet
Sentinel Dome is located off Glacier Point road, just a few miles from Glacier Point. It is a hump-backed rock dome rising out of the forest, right above Yosemite Valley’s southern rim.
The Sentinel Dome hike is an easy one. You hike up the eastern side of the dome, gingerly prancing your way past boulders, trees, and late season snow fields. Getting up the dome shouldn’t be an issue for most hikers, and the payoff is absolutely stunning.
The views from the Summit are, in my opinion, the best in Yosemite. Forget the Panorama Trail. Sentinel’s viewshed is the real panorama. A huge tapestry of backcountry peaks and domes lies before you. This view is grand, it is sweeping, and it might make you want to drop everything and explore the Sierra Nevada Backcountry.
Standing atop the summit, you can’t help but feel a bit like Simba, when Mufasa is telling him all about his royal inheritance. “All that the light Touches will one day be yours. Except for Fresno.”
The Trail
The Trail to Sentinel Dome is the sister hike of Taft Point. Both trails share the same parking lot, trail head, and vault toilet. They are even the same distance, with similar difficulty. Yet, these two are essentially opposite hikes-Taft Point descends to a great viewpoint, while Sentinel Dome climbs up to one.
Hiking Sentinel Dome is best combined with a trip to Taft point. I highly recommend knocking both hikes out at the same time, preferably at sunset. From Taft Point, you get a unique, bird’s eye view of Yosemite Valley. Atop Sentinel Dome, hikers are given a sweeping, macroscopic look at Yosemite’s back country. Neither hike is particularly challenging, but hiking both in succession is a good way to kill a few hours.
Hikers begin at the Trail head, and quickly descend to a small creek. A wooden footbridge allows safe passage over the water. In Mid-June, 2019, this creek was flowing heavily. By late summer, it’s flow will likely have ceased.
Immediately, the trail begins to climb up a granite bench. This smooth, barren area marks the former path of a glacier. Wide, flat rock benches like this are common throughout the Sierra Nevada.
You probably first noticed Sentinel Dome on the drive in. It’s hard to miss. But if you did, it’s big, dome-y silhouette will dominate the trail. Speaking of big granite domes, Sentinel Dome is pretty small, relative to most. Most Yosemite domes, like Half Dome, require strenuous, committing hikes. Sentinel is a mere hop, skip, and jump to it’s summit.
The trail curves around Sentinel’s south side to begin ascending it’s gentler, eastern flank. I found this weird. My distant, childhood memories of this hike had me trekking up it’s north side. Just goes to show the unreliability of human memory.
A Half Dome Alternative
For thousands of Yosemite hikers, ascending Half Dome is the ultimate goal. Half Dome presents a tough day hike that challenges hikers not only physically, but at times even emotionally. Getting up those cables is not easy. Securing a hiking permit may be even more difficult, considering that you’re competing with hundreds of others for a limited number of spots.
As a result, many would be Half Dome hikers are not given their chance. Fortunately, Sentinel Dome presents a good alternative to hiking Half Dome. Sentinel’s views are very similar to those seen atop Half Dome’s Summit, with a mere fraction of the legwork required to obtain them.
In many ways, I’d say that the view from Sentinel is superior. Not only do you get a 360 degree view of Yosemite, but you get to look down upon Half Dome itself. You’ll be sitting higher than anyone on Half Dome’s summit, and you can see a stunning view of its famous Northwest face. Half Dome hikers don’t get that view!
If Sentinel’s easy approach doesn’t satisfy the masochist in you, then there are plenty of other tough yosemite trails to test your mettle. The hike to Upper Yosemite Falls is a good example. I might also suggest hiking the Four Mile Trail to Sentinel Dome.
The Four Mile Trail starts at the Yosemite Valley Floor, and switchbacks up thousands of feet before finally reaching Glacier Point. Hikers can then choose to extend their trek to Sentinel Dome. While you’re in the neighborhood, you might as well check out Taft Point too.
Related: For another awesome (albeit very difficult hike) that offers big Yosemite views, check out Clouds Rest.
Conclusion-tl;dr
Hike Sentinel Dome. It is an easy hike, and the views are among the best in all of Yosemite. When you do get to Sentinel’s summit, don’t forget to grab a piece of my childhood memories.
Need Gear?
Hiking in Yosemite is an unforgettable experience. After spending months of my life, hiking, camping, and climbing all over Yosemite, I know what gear I always need to have with me, and what I can leave at home. Before your set out on the trails, make sure you’ve got the right gear to keep you safe, happy, and most importantly-looking good. Check out my list of the 11 Essential Items You Need for Your Yosemite Hiking Trip.
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