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Mirror Lake is named for its clear reflection of adjacent mountains. The lake is at its best in the spring and early summer, the absence of wind during the early morning and late evening hours allows near perfect reflections on its surface. The lade was formed when rockslides from the cliffs above dammed Tenaya Creek. Every year the creek drops some of its load of sediment as it passes through Mirror Lake, so that some day it may dill in completely, as did Ancient Lake Yosemite. Early State Guardians in the Valley took steps to preserve Mirror Lake by building check dams In Tenaya Creek to catch silt, and a dam at the outlet to raise the water level and enlarge the flooded area. Even now it goes almost completely dry every autumn after the snowpack of the preceding winter has melted and run down Tenaya Creek, but with the first autumn storms it fills again, and in winter it may be covered completely with a layer of ice and snow. A three mile loop trail extends up Tenaya Canyon and then returns on the Half Dome side of Mirror Lake.
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