Yosemite: Tenaya Lake Area Plan

The new trailhead offers visitors the opportunity to plan and organize their itinerary and decompress prior to embarking on the short journey to the lake.

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Improved visitor infrastructure, such as picnic nodes, helps to consolidate human impacts to the environment.

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The new trail includes a boardwalk and bridging over wetlands, allowing visitors to move through sensitive areas while protecting resources.

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The beach area has been enhanced for family use with new community tables that can accommodate large gatherings.

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The improved trail provides easier access to the shores of the lake’s East Beach, named the “lake of the shining rocks” by earliest inhabitants.

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Restored pockets of vegetation along the East Beach will help limit further erosion of the shoreline.

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The new ecologically-friendly interpretive trail protects habitat and provides universal access to the lake’s East Beach.

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The Lake of Shining Rocks

Tenaya Lake Area Plan

Yosemite, CA

Restoring Natural Processes

Located at 8,300 feet of elevation in the Sierra Nevada high country, Tenaya Lake is one of the most popular destinations in Yosemite due to its incredible scenic qualities and close proximity to Tioga Road. This restoration project encompasses master planning and phased implementation to resolve conflicts of visitor use and visitor safety, while protecting vulnerable shoreline, wetland and meadow habitats.

Enhanced Lake Experience

The first two phases of implementation clarified and enhanced visitor access through new trailheads, interpretive signage, structured gathering nodes and accessible trails with raised boardwalks that merge with the rugged character of the lake and protect its dynamic ecology. Ultimately, restoration will ensure that the Tenaya Lake area thrives, so that future generations of visitors, in turn, can feel restored by its beauty and vitality.

Client

National Park Service and The Yosemite Conservancy

Overview

Restoration master plan and phased implementation strategy for Tenaya Lake area

Program

Trailhead, picnicking facilities, restroom rehabilitation, and a new accessible interpretive trail

Size

9.7 acres

Completion Date

2012

Services

Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Urban Design & Planning

Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias Yosemite National Park, CA +

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Gemenskap Park Seattle, WA +

The new trailhead offers visitors the opportunity to plan and organize their itinerary and decompress prior to embarking on the short journey to the lake.

Improved visitor infrastructure, such as picnic nodes, helps to consolidate human impacts to the environment.

The new trail includes a boardwalk and bridging over wetlands, allowing visitors to move through sensitive areas while protecting resources.

The beach area has been enhanced for family use with new community tables that can accommodate large gatherings.

The improved trail provides easier access to the shores of the lake’s East Beach, named the “lake of the shining rocks” by earliest inhabitants.

Restored pockets of vegetation along the East Beach will help limit further erosion of the shoreline.

The new ecologically-friendly interpretive trail protects habitat and provides universal access to the lake’s East Beach.

The Lake of Shining Rocks

Tenaya Lake Area Plan