Does hiking the famous Half Dome in Yosemite National Park—complete with the cables, the slippery granite face, and the 14-16-mile trek, which gains 4,800 feet—seem a little too intense? Or, perhaps you didn’t score a Half Dome permit and you’re looking for an alternative hike. In either case, Matt and Karen Smith say you should try Lembert Dome instead . . . or, as they like to call it, “half-a** dome.”
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[RELATED: Half Dome vs. Angels Landing: Which Famous Hike Is Scarier?]
“No cables needed. Only 3.5 miles [round trip] and 850 feet of elevation gain, Lembert Dome is the perfect hike for those of us who like a little adventure and some incredible views, without the terror of a Half Dome trek,” wrote the Smiths in a Facebook post. “Located in the beautiful Tuolumne Meadows area, which just reopened for the season. A fun hike for your next visit to the park.”
Lembert Dome is one of Yosemite’s many granite domes sculpted by glaciers millions of years ago. The Lembert Dome Loop takes 2-2.5 hours to hike, as opposed to Half Dome’s 10-12 hours.
See this couple’s argument for hiking Lembert Dome instead of Half Dome below (or see it here).
Header stock image by Carmen Martínez Torrón/Getty Images
