Lukens Lake Hike Photos – Tioga Road

It took me quite a few trips before I finally decided to stop at the trailhead and made the quick trek to this grassy, forest lake. You see, Tioga Road passes right by it on the way to more popular destinations such as Olmsted Point and Tenaya Lake. Well if you’ve already seen those sights, here are photos from my Lukens Lake hike in summer.

Trail and grassy plain - Lukens Lake hike photos — Lukens Lake trail on the left

Yosemite’s trails don’t get more mild than this one. Super short, with quite an easy climb. To be honest, I’m not even sure if you do in fact climb! Doesn’t feel like it.

Trail Photos – Lukens Lake Hike

Shady forest trail through thick trees - Lukens Lake hike photos — Trail starts right near the road

The shady, heavily forested trail is easy to follow, and quite nice. On the day I did this hike, I was the only visitor at the lake. That could be a big plus for hikers looking to escape the summer crowds.

Blue lake reflections & grassy shores — Blue lake reflections

When I first arrived here at the water’s edge, I noticed a large buck (deer), drinking off in the distance to my left. I regret not having my zoom camera with me that day, though. Keep an eye out for him, should these photos inspire you to make this trek.

Lake view through the trees, along the hiking path — View from the path

The interesting thing about Lukens lake is that it has a totally different grassy character than other high Sierra lakes. There’s no granite features to be found. I assumed it was because this area is much lower in elevation. In my mind, this really makes since.

However, I have since learned that the Lukens Lake hike is actually at over 6,000ft! I was shocked. To be fair, though…I suppose there is still a big difference in the terrain at 6k and at 8k+ feet. The latter being where you start to get into the alpine regions.

Anyhow, you can find more related photos in my Yosemite trails album. Also be sure to check out the main destination page for Lukens Lake, though I do hope to add to this soon…

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About My Photos

The images on this website are available for licensing and/or sale as framed prints. If you’d like to purchase them for a blog, news article, or gift, feel free to contact me with the specifics. This way you’re supporting photographers such as me directly (as opposed to buying from a faceless stock photo corporation).

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– Nathan Allen

About Me

I’m Nathan Allen, photographer / creator of YosemiteParkPhotos.com (Yosemite Photos) and international travel site I Dreamed Of This. In truth, I lived in San Francisco, New York, & Singapore…but nothing compares to life in the mountains. I share my experiences HERE.