California Falls (Yosemite National Park, California, USA)

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California Falls

View of California Falls from the end of the spur trail

California Falls is the next major ensemble of waterfalls you'll see beyond the Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp. Look for this waterfall about 1.5 to 2 miles further downstream from Glen Aulin Falls. Near the base of the descent to get to the river's level beneath this waterfall, there is a spur trail leading to its most photogenic spot. Outside of this spot, it's basically a series of cascades tumbling one after another.

Basically this waterfall and LeConte Falls are the reasons why I came up with this notion of "waterfall ensembles," where an ensemble of cascades and waterfalls begins and ends where a long series of white water begins and ends (i.e. they're separated by areas where the Tuolumne River is calm).

Anyways, waterfall-geek-talk aside, this waterfall is merely a warm up to the bigger and better cascades and waterfalls just further down the trail.

Note that both times I did this hike, there's a section of trail that was flooded just upstream from California Falls. The flooding was deep enough that it could go shin deep. So it might be a good idea to bring along sandals so you can switch shoes and just gun this section instead of spending lots of time trying to find a way to proceed without getting your feet wet. Also, lots of mozzies like the standing water here!

Directions: This waterfall shares the same trail and trailhead as that of Tuolumne Falls, Glen Aulin Falls, LeConte Falls, and Waterwheel Falls. See the Tuolumne Falls or Waterwheel Falls for road directions. See Tuolumne Falls and Glen Aulin Falls for trail descriptions leading up to the trail description on this page.

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Flooded part of the trail

Nice peaceful spot to relax just upstream from California Falls

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For more information about our experiences with this waterfall, check out the following travel stories.

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