Fresno Dome is a dominant granite dome

Granite dome

A granite dome is a dome of granite, formed by exfoliation.-Formation:Granite forms plutons of igneous rock several kilometers below the surface as magma slowly cools and crystallizes. The granite is under great overhead pressure....

 rising in isolation above the forest of Soquel Meadow in the Sierra National Forest

Sierra National Forest

Sierra National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located on the western slope of central Sierra Nevada in the state of California. The forest is known for its mountain scenery and natural resources. Forest headquarters are located in Clovis, California...

 in Madera County, California

Madera County, California

Madera County is a county of the U.S. state of California, located in the Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada north of Fresno County. It comprises the Madera-Chowchilla, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census the population was 150,865...

.

John Muir

John Muir

John Muir was a Scottish-born American naturalist, author, and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions...

 encountered Fresno Dome, then known by its local name of Wamello, in the 1870s, and used its summit to locate Fresno Grove (now known as Nelder Grove

Nelder Grove

Nelder Grove is a sequoia grove located in the Sierra National Forest, Madera County, California. It is a 1540 acre tract containing over 100 mature Giant Sequoias. It also contains a number of sequoia stumps, left over from when the area was logged prior to its acquisition by the United States...

).

It is accessible by a trailhead which is a three-mile drive from the Sierra Vista Scenic Byway

Sierra Vista Scenic Byway

The Sierra Vista Scenic Byway is an route through the Sierra National Forest in the U.S. state of California. Many examples of the Sierra’s most distinctive granite domes, meadows and glacial valleys can be seen along the way...

 (part of the National Scenic Byway

National Scenic Byway

A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for its archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and/or scenic qualities. The program was established by Congress in 1991 to preserve and protect the nation's scenic but often...

 system). The nearest town is Bass Lake, California

Bass Lake, California

Bass Lake is a freshwater artificial lake in the Sierra National Forest, of Madera County, California, approximately south of the entrance to Yosemite National Park. The lake is formed by the construction of the Crane Valley Dam across Willow Creek, a tributary to the San Joaquin River, and is...

, 9.1 miles (14.6 km) to the south.

At its base, sits the Fresno Dome campground, a backwoods campground accessible only by jeep trails. The campground is a favorite spot for deer hunters and is largely empty other than during deer season.