Trip report: boondocking and hiking near Tioga Pass

I agree with you about the entrance station. As to the E lake trailhead, there is a large parking lot for it. I was camping, but it looked like you could park there to dayhike. You would have to drive through the camp area to get to that.

I usually sleep at Lower Lee Vining USFS camp, then drive up the hill early for my day's activites. That one time I lucked into TM camp, it was fabulous. I got a level site near the river. This was several years ago, a few days before they closed for the season.