Pothole Dome

Yosemite National Park


Pothole Dome marks the western end of Tuolumne Meadows. It’s small by Yosemite standards, but the short, 200ft climb to the top offers great views of the meadows and surrounding peaks – especially, of course, at sunset. Park along Tioga Rd, then follow the trail around the dome’s western side and up to its modest summit. It’s a fairly quick trip and well worth the effort.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Yosemite National Park attractions

1. Lembert Dome

0.98 MILES

Prominently marking the eastern end of the main meadow, Lembert Dome towers about 800ft above the Tuolumne River. Its summit, which chalks in at 9450ft…

2. Parsons Memorial Lodge

1.41 MILES

This simple but beautifully rugged cabin was built in 1915 from local granite. It initially served as a Sierra Club meeting room and was named for Edward…

3. Soda Springs

1.46 MILES

Above the north shore of the Tuolumne River, carbonated mineral water burbles silently out of Soda Springs, a small natural spring that turns its…

4. Main Meadow

1.64 MILES

Stretching nearly 3 miles from Pothole Dome in the west to Lembert Dome in the east, Tuolumne’s main meadow is beautiful to behold, especially at sunset,…

5. Tenaya Lake

4.97 MILES

Just east of Olmsted Point, the shiny blue surface of Tenaya Lake (8150ft) looks absolutely stunning framed by thick stands of pine and a series of smooth…

6. Olmsted Point

6.93 MILES

This ‘honey, hit the brakes!’ viewpoint, midway between the May Lake turnoff and Tenaya Lake, is a lunar landscape of glaciated granite with a stunning…

7. Lyell Canyon

7.18 MILES

This lovely canyon, which includes a section that is part of the John Muir Trail, follows the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River.

8. Half Dome

12.01 MILES

Yosemite's most distinctive natural monument, Half Dome is 87 million years old and has a 93% vertical grade – the sheerest cliff in North America…

  • placement: superzone
  • path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
  • possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],
  • targeting:
    {
      "url": "usa/yosemite-national-park/attractions/pothole-dome/a/poi-sig/1482456/361888",
      "destination": "Yosemite-National-Park",
      "continent": "North-America",
      "country": "USA",
      "region": "Yosemite-National-Park",
      "position": "superzone"
    }