Clouds Rest, Mountain summit in Mariposa County, California, United States

Clouds Rest is a granite peak in the Sierra Nevada standing at about 10,000 feet (3,025 meters) with sharp ridges and exposed rock faces. The mountain features a northwest face of solid granite that rises dramatically above the surrounding canyon and meadows.

The mountain was named in the 1850s by the Mariposa Battalion when they observed clouds settling on the peak during a snowstorm retreat. The name reflects what they witnessed during that moment in the winter landscape.

The name comes from Lafayette H. Bunnell of the Mariposa Battalion, whose party turned back to camp when they saw clouds settling to rest on the summit during a snowstorm. Hikers today follow the same approach from Tioga Pass Road or Happy Isles.

You can reach the peak via multiple trails from different starting points in and around Yosemite. Plan for an early start and prepare for changing weather, since exposed ridges offer little protection from sudden storms.

Clouds Rest is an arête, a thin, almost knife-like ridge left when glaciers eroded the rock to carve Tenaya Canyon and Little Yosemite Valley. Its northwest face, mostly solid granite, rises 5,000 feet (1,520 m) above Tenaya Creek.