About Tuolumne Falls
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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