Cloud Chasers
Clouds Rest
A long day from the Sunrise Lakes trailhead with an exposed granite finish.
Quest challenge 6/10 · Bold Ascent
Quest estimate for the described approach: endurance, altitude, and technical terrain combined. Conditions can change the difficulty. This is not an AllTrails or climbing grade.
Meet the mountain
The approach: Sunrise Lakes trailhead near Tenaya Lake
Summit finish: Clouds Rest’s granite summit ridge.
A Yosemite summit with an extraordinary perspective above the valley and Half Dome. NPS describes a 14-mile return outing from Sunrise Lakes trailhead, ending along a narrow granite ridge. This rating uses the Tioga Road approach; starting in Yosemite Valley creates a different day. Seasonal road access and exposed granite conditions belong in the plan.
Combine long-day pacing with a shared decision about the ridge and weather.
A SUMMIT QUEST TALL TALE · FICTION
The cloud hotel
Clouds checked in for one night and requested a late checkout. That was several seasons ago. The front desk keeps leaving increasingly polite notes about the borrowed towels.
Explore the Field Guide’s peak legends →Before you set out
Every good quest starts with a little map time. Explore these route guides and check the latest updates before setting a date.
Sources reviewed 2026-09-08. Check the links for current conditions. The approach above explains our challenge rating; logging this peak does not assign that route to your outing.
NPS Sunrise Lakes trailhead ↗
Clouds Rest summit route and exposed ridge.
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Opens in a new tab“Find AllTrails routes” opens a Google search restricted to AllTrails trail pages, not a selected route. Completion is tracked in Summit Quest and does not sync with AllTrails.