Tuolumne Falls

Yosemite National Park, California, USA

About Tuolumne Falls


Hiking Distance: 10 miles round trip
Suggested Time: 5-7 hours

Date first visited: 2004-05-29
Date last visited: 2004-06-05

Waterfall Latitude: 37.90465
Waterfall Longitude: -119.41555

Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Tuolumne Falls is the first major waterfall we encountered as we made our way from Tuolumne Meadows towards the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River.

Of all the waterfalls that we encountered on the Tuolumne River, this one probably had the most vertical drop.

Tuolumne_Falls_011_05292004 - Tuolumne Falls and rainbow
Tuolumne Falls and rainbow

Therefore, we thought it was one of the more photogenic ones as well.

I’ve seen literature claiming it falls 100ft, but I’m more inclined to think that’s true only if you count some of the cascading sections above and below the main tier.

As a matter of fact, the white water starts well above this waterfall at some footbridges and continues to cascade below the White Cascade.

So who knows where this waterfall technically begins and ends?

The Hike to Tuolumne Falls

Tuolumne_Meadows_002_05292004 - Hiking from Lembert Dome towards Soda Springs and the Tuolumne Meadows with Unicorn Peak in the background at the start of our hike to Tuolumne Falls and beyond
Hiking from Lembert Dome towards Soda Springs and the Tuolumne Meadows with Unicorn Peak in the background at the start of our hike to Tuolumne Falls and beyond

Starting from Tuolumne Meadows, we encountered this waterfall at roughly 5.4 miles after a loss of 500ft in elevation (Tuolumne Meadows is around 7,000ft high).

Thus, if we were to do only this waterfall as an out-and-back hike, then it’s about 10.8 miles round trip, which makes for a pretty long day hike.

Of course, for that much effort, we were better off extending this hike a little more to see more waterfalls, and that was pretty much what we did.

Our hike began near Lembert Dome at the far eastern side of Tuolumne Meadows.

Tuolumne_Meadows_029_05312004 - Reflections in the Tuolumne River on the trail to Tuolumne Falls
Reflections in the Tuolumne River on the trail to Tuolumne Falls

From there, we hiked on the obvious trail that led us through the extensive alpine meadow towards Parson’s Lodge via Soda Springs.

Throughout this stretch of the hike, we saw impressive peaks in the distance such as Unicorn Peak, Cathedral Peak, and Fairview Dome.

The trail then entered a forested area where the trail moved closer to the Tuolumne River.

Eventually, the trail reached a footbridge where we crossed the river and granite terrain started to dominate.

Glen_Aulin_019_06052004 - Looking up towards Tuolumne Falls from further downstream the Tuolumne River
Looking up towards Tuolumne Falls from further downstream the Tuolumne River

The trail descended steeply down granite steps alongside Tuolumne Falls offering various angles to see the waterfall.

We could’ve turned back from the base of the waterfall if it was our destination, but we continued on the trail eventually reaching Glen Aulin Falls (described on a separate page).

Authorities

Tuolumne Falls resides in Yosemite National Park near Mammoth Lakes in Mono County, California. It is administered by the National Park Service. For information or inquiries about the park as well as current conditions, visit their website.

Tuolumne_Meadows_004_05292004 - Looking back at Lembert Dome as we started the hike
Tuolumne_Meadows_003_05292004 - We were actually intending to backpack to the Glen Aulin High Sierra Camp, hence the large packs we were carrying
Tuolumne_Meadows_011_05292004 - Some flooded parts of the trail near the Parson's Lodge vicinity
Tuolumne_Meadows_042_05312004 - Parson's Lodge and Unicorn Peak
Tuolumne_Meadows_017_05292004 - Now on the formal trail beyond the network of trails near the Soda Springs and Parson's Lodge area
Tuolumne_Meadows_020_05292004 - Tuolumne Meadows fronting Fairview Dome as our hike traversed through this large alpine meadow
Tuolumne_Meadows_023_05292004 - We eventually got to where the trail got close to the Tuolumne River.  The sharp peaks in the background I believe belong to Unicorn Peak
Glen_Aulin_003_05292004 - Now the terrain became more granite as we left Tuolumne Meadows
Glen_Aulin_008_05292004 - Looking downstream on the Tuolumne River as we crossed it over the footbridge
Glen_Aulin_018_05292004 - Looking upstream where the Tuolumne River was picking up speed on its way to Tuolumne Falls
Glen_Aulin_025_06052004 - Another look at Tuolumne Falls and rainbow


The Glen Aulin trailhead is about 7 miles west of Tioga Pass (where the Summer only Eastern Entrance is) along Route 120.

You can find parking along the side of the spur road leaving Route 120 near Lembert Dome (near signpost T32).

Tuolumne_Meadows_001_05292004 - People parked along the road shoulder in front of Lembert Dome to leave the car behind and hike into the Yosemite backcountry
People parked along the road shoulder in front of Lembert Dome to leave the car behind and hike into the Yosemite backcountry

Or, if you don’t mind walking an additional mile, you can park at the official backpacker’s permit station further east along Route 120 where there seems to be plenty of parking space.

Day trippers may also consider parking in one of the pullouts near Tuolumne Meadows (signpost T29).

To give you some context, this hike is accessible when the Tioga Road has been mostly snow free, which also means we would be able to access the trailhead from Mammoth Lakes (roughly an hours drive; Hwy 120 turnoff from Hwy 395 is just south of Lee Vining). Mammoth Lakes is roughly 5 hours drive from Los Angeles via the Hwy 14 and Hwy 395.

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Tagged with: tuolumne, mariposa county, high country, yosemite, tioga, sierra, california, waterfall, glen aulin, waterwheel, tuolumne meadows



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Johnny Cheng

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Johnny Cheng is the founder of the World of Waterfalls and author of the award-winning A Guide to New Zealand Waterfalls. Over the last 2 decades, he has visited thousands of waterfalls in over 40 countries around the world and nearly 40 states in the USA.
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