Yosemite High Sierra Camps
Sunrise High Sierra Camp
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Sunrise

Open

The newest of the High Sierra Camps, Sunrise sits above the Cathedral Lakes basin with panoramic views of the Cathedral and Clark ranges — and, true to its name, spectacular sunrises.

Reopened 2024 — operating in 2026

Sunrise photo: Elysia Heller

Gallery

All 7 photos →
A pack string files past the tent cabins — the camp's supplies arriving by mule. Loaded mules pause by a guest tent below the granite. Long Meadow spreading out below camp, ringed by granite domes and spires. The camp office tent in morning light. A guest tent tucked against a glacial boulder on the granite bench. Evening settling over the meadow, the last light on the high peaks.

Added in 1961 as the last camp in the system, Sunrise completed the 51-mile High Sierra Camp Loop. On July 15 of that year Mary Curry Tresidder — president of the Curry Company, daughter of Camp Curry’s founders, and the camp’s “inspirer and financial angel” — raised the flag over its scattered tents, canvas dining tent, and rock kitchen on a grassy shelf above Long Meadow. “The Sunrise Camp was long a dream of mine,” she wrote, “as I felt that the Sunrise Trail ran through such a beautiful region that it should be made more accessible to people.” A plaque set in granite at the camp records her part in its founding. It sits above the popular Cathedral Lakes basin, one of the most photographed areas in Yosemite’s high country.

Sunrise reopened in 2024 and is operating in 2026 as part of the surviving three-camp loop — Glen Aulin, May Lake, and Sunrise.

Timeline

  1. 1961

    The Last Camp Added

    On July 15, 1961, Mary Curry Tresidder, president of the Curry Company, raises the flag over the new camp — scattered tents, a canvas dining tent, and a rock kitchen on a grassy shelf above Long Meadow. The fifth and final camp completes the 51-mile High Sierra Camp Loop; a plaque set in granite records her part in founding it.

  2. 2019–2023

    Years of Closure

    Heavy snow, the COVID-19 pandemic, deferred maintenance, and staffing shortages drive recurring system-wide closures affecting Sunrise.

  3. 2024

    Camp Reopens

    Sunrise is one of three camps to reopen after years of closures, alongside Glen Aulin and May Lake.

  4. 2025

    Full-System Closure

    All five High Sierra Camps are closed for the season, citing potable-water and restroom/utility failures across the system.

  5. Today

    Operating in 2026

    Sunrise is running on the official guided loop in 2026 as part of the surviving three-camp loop — Glen Aulin, May Lake, and Sunrise.