Yosemite Falls

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The waterfall drops in three major stages. The first stage is the Upper Fall, which plunges 1430ft. The second stage is the Middle Cascades, which tumbles down a height of reportedly 625ft. The final stage is the Lower Fall, which drops 320ft. You can see some or all of the falls from various locations through the upper reaches of Yosemite Valley as well as the Valley itself.

We've been able to visit this waterfall from those various locations, and we'll highlight what we've done below.

Base of Lower Yosemite Falls: This is the most straightforward way of getting close to the waterfall. The walk begins right across the Northside Drive from Yosemite Lodge. It's pretty much paved almost the entire way so there's even wheelchair access to see the lower waterfall. There's a footbridge providing great open views of the lower waterfall.

But even the paved walkway to the falls is pleasant because it's framed by tall trees and you can see both the upper and lower falls pretty much the entire way until you get so close that only the lower waterfall can be seen.

So given the fact that this super easy walk lets just about anyone get up close to the mighty Yosemite Falls and perhaps become a lover of waterfalls, you're most likely not going to have neither this trail nor the falls to yourself.

There used to be a car park on the north side of Northside Drive, but now it's pedestrians only. I recalled they did designate a day parking lot behind Yosemite Lodge with other car park locations by Curry Village. I'm not sure if that's still the case now. But nonetheless, I definitely remembered parking not being easy to find (and that was at least 5 or 6 years ago; I can only imagine it's worse now).

The Yosemite Road Guide says this path is by signpost V3 (or is it V4?), but I don't remember if it's still there.

The Top of Yosemite Falls: You're gonna have to be in pretty good shape to get to the top of this waterfall. Just the fact that it's a pretty long and tiring hike with some serious elevation gain makes you appreciate just how tall this waterfall really is!

All told, you're signing up for about 7.2 miles round trip with about 2700ft of elevation gain. Most of the walk is exposed to the sun since it's on the south-facing cliffs of Yosemite Valley. So you're definitely gonna have to bring lots of water, stamina, and sunscreen. I'd also recommend an early start especially if you're doing this on a relatively warm day.

The trail begins behind Camp 4 (also known as the Sunnyside Campground). It's well known in the rock climbers circle (because it's where you'd base yourself for a climb up El Capitan's vertical face) as well as park veterans (because it's a walk-in campground). It's about a 1/4-mile west of the walkway to Lower Yosemite Falls. And since you can't park in Camp 4 unless you've securing a camping spot there, you mind as well count the extra distance as part of your hike or you could wait for a shuttle to drop you off at the campsite one stop beyond Yosemite Lodge. The Yosemite Road Guide has the trailhead near signpost V5.

Almost immediately, the trail climbs up in earnest. It will continue to do so (you might even have to cross the stream from "El Capitan Falls" during an unusually high snowpack/snowmelt year) until you get up to the Columbia Point Lookout at about the 1.2-mile point. From here, you can already look down at Yosemite Valley, across at Sentinel Rock and Sentinel Falls, and further east at Half Dome.

Next, the trail goes up a gruelling set of switchbacks on a sandy surface before leveling out. The trail then makes a turn and heads closer to the Upper Yosemite Falls. You might even get a closer look at the Middle Cascades from this stretch of the trail.

By the time you get right up to the rock wall over which Upper Yosemite Falls plunges, you'll be going up yet another series of long granite steps and switchbacks. Ultimately, this leads up to the top of the falls while connecting to other trails in the High Country as well.

Right near the top of the falls, the trail does have some mild cliff exposure, but there are some railings to help reassure you. But do be cognizant of the cliff edges in some of the more exposed parts, because it's definitely a long way down!

Swinging Bridge: This is probably one of my favorite vantage points for photographing Yosemite Falls. That's because you can see the falls from a sturdy footbridge (totally not indicative of its name) over Merced River possibly giving you the ability to photograph the falls reflected in the river itself when it's calm.

The car park for this spot is at signpost V17, which is a couple of stops after Bridalveil Fall and one stop before Sentinel Falls and the base of the Four Mile Trail (to Glacier Point). You can walk a short distance from the car park to the swinging -err sturdy bridge.

Yosemite Falls Across A Meadow: This is probably one of the more obvious viewpoints along the Southside Drive. According to the Yosemite Road Guide, it's near signpost V19. There's a long meadow fronting your view of the falls with very long pullouts and bike paths along the road. There's also plenty of space and time to pullover here.

I believe somewhere along this stretch, there's a bridge crossing over the Merced River leading to another large pullout with more views of both Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls from across Cook Meadow. Beyond this car park, I believe the road continues into Yosemite Lodge as well as connecting with the Northside Drive.

If you proceed further along the Southside Drive, you can get all the way Curry Village and Stoneman Meadow (near signpost V22). Here, you can see the Upper Yosemite Falls from a distance at an angle over the Stoneman Meadow.

Yosemite Falls from Sentinel Dome: If you want to get a view of the entirety of Yosemite Falls including the Middle Cascades, then you'll want to summit Sentinel Dome, which is a fairly easy one-mile hike with a steep scramble to get up the dome itself. Sentinel Dome was once famous for having a lone Jeffrey Pine Tree at its top, but was since blown over by a thunderstorm some time in 2004 or 2005. I considered myself fortunate to have photographed it back in 2002 when it was still standing.

The car park for this hike is along Glacier Point Road at signpost G8.

Yosemite Falls from Taft Point: For a little more solitude and a somewhat unusual view of Yosemite Falls, you can hike out to the fissures and sheer vertical drop cliffs at Taft Point. The car park for this 1.1-mile hike at signpost G8 on Glacier Point Road (the same one as for Sentinel Dome).

Yosemite Falls from Glacier Point and the Panorama Trail: You can see the falls from an angle at one of the well-touristed lookouts at Glacier Point, which itself sits at the very end of Glacier Point Road (signpost G11).

Glacier Point is also the starting point for the shuttle hike on the Panorama Trail, which takes in three major waterfalls (Illilouette Fall, Nevada Falls, and Vernal Fall) while providing more sideways views of Yosemite Falls from a far distance.

Yosemite Falls from the Four Mile Trail: Finally, there's a cliff-exposed view from directly across the valley of Yosemite Falls right on the Four Mile Trail, which connects Yosemite Valley with Glacier Point. Technically, it's longer than four miles each way, and we've only walked down from Glacier Point to portions where we could get decent views of the falls before walking back up. We never did the whole hike.

Nonetheless, I'd imagine it's a pretty and exhilarating hike, but you definitely do have to watch out for the cliff exposure. I remembered confronting my fear of heights on this trail the very first time I was on it way back in 2000, I think.

Dizzying view from the top of Yosemite Falls on a late spring afternoon


Sweep of the Glacier Point Panorama beginning with Yosemite Falls and ending with the Giant Stairway

View World of Waterfalls in a larger map

TRIP REPORTS

• June 1, 2002
• March 21, 2004
• April 30, 2005
• June 3, 2011

GUIDEBOOKS / OTHER RESOURCES

NEARBY WATERFALLS

• Ribbon Falls
• Horsetail Falls
• Sentinel Falls
• Bridalveil Fall
• Silver Strand Falls
• Widow's Tears
• Cascade Falls
• Wildcat Falls

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