Olmsted Point: Yosemite's Iconic Viewpoint for Half Dome and Clouds Rest

Olmsted Point, situated midway between the May Lake turnoff and Tenaya Lake along Highway 120, delivers a dramatic, must-stop viewpoint amid a stark, glaciated granite landscape. Gaze down Tenaya Canyon to the backside of iconic Half Dome. Towering over the canyon's eastern rim is the 9,926-foot Clouds Rest, Yosemite's largest exposed granite formation—its summit often shrouded in clouds, as the name suggests.

Elevated 4,500 feet above Tenaya Creek, Clouds Rest offers a strenuous yet rewarding day hike: a 14-mile out-and-back trail with 1,775 feet of elevation gain.

The viewpoint and parking area draw crowds, so descend the rocks for solitude or walk a quarter-mile to the overlook for unobstructed, deeper canyon vistas beyond the trees. Due to severe avalanche risks, it's the last stretch of Highway 120 cleared for spring opening.

Named for Frederick Law Olmsted (1822–1903), chairman of Yosemite Grant's first Board of Commissioners in 1864, who also designed New York City's Central Park and landscapes for UC Berkeley and Stanford University.