Tunnel View to Sentinel Beach

Starting at the trailhead at Tunnel View, head up Pohono Trail which climbs through forest up the side of the valley. Continue on Pohono, making sure to take the short detours off the main trail to visit the lookouts at Stanford Point (about 6.2km), Dewey Point (about 8.3 km) and Taft Point (about 15.5km) for the breathtaking views across the valley. Past Stanford Point, the trail rises and falls but is overall gaining height all the way.

At about 19.7km you'll meet the turn-off to Sentinel Dome, which is well worth the detour - about 800m distance/100m vertical from the trail. Head up until you reach the domed granite top, and take in the fantastic view of Half Dome across the valley. This is your last significant climb of the route and the top is a great place to have a picnic enjoying the vast landscape.

From Sentinel Dome, retrace your steps down to Pohono Trail and continue downhill towards the Glacier Point trailhead. Explore the lookout at Glacier Point - don't miss any opportunities to visit lookouts, they're all worth it! Then take Four Mile Trail, which will take you back down to the valley floor. Make sure you've saved some energy and legs for this descent - it's 10km of unrelenting downhill, drops about 1200m, and has multiple switchbacks. Tons of fun but requires pacing yourself if you don't want your legs to turn into jelly halfway down! Four Mile Trail takes you all the way to the road. Cross over and finish at the Sentinel Creek picnic area. Head down to the Merced river for a refreshing post-run swim.