Wapama Falls

Yosemite National Park / Hetch Hetchy, California, USA

About Wapama Falls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Wapama Falls is the feature waterfall of the Hetch Hetchy area.

With its consistently strong flow, reported height of 1,341ft, and surrounding granite formations, I tend to think of this waterfall as the Hetch Hetchy version of Bridalveil Fall (more or less).

Hetch_Hetchy_050_06042011 - Looking directly up at Wapama Falls
Looking directly up at Wapama Falls

If you get a chance to see old photos of Hetch Hetchy Valley before it got flooded from the O’Shaughnessy Dam in 1911, it looks hauntingly similar to that of Yosemite Valley!

The difference is you have Kolana Rock taking the place of El Capitan, and you have Wapama Falls taking the place of Bridalveil Fall (though it flows with similar vigor and flash as that of Yosemite Falls).

Flooded Footbridges at Wapama Falls

What we tend to think about most when it comes to this waterfall is the flooded conditions we encountered on our very first visit here at the very end of May in 2002.

It was a situation when the rushing waters from the waterfall actually spilled over the footbridges and granite steps near its base.

Hetch_Hetchy_009_scanned_05312002 - Looking across the flooded bridges beneath Wapama Falls during our very first time here at the end of May 2002
Looking across the flooded bridges beneath Wapama Falls during our very first time here at the end of May 2002

However, we had never seen the waterfall do that again on our subsequent visits.

I have a theory about why that’s the case and how we can use Tueeulala Falls as a proxy to tell us what the trail conditions would be before setting out on the hike.

You can read about this on the Tueeulala Falls page, which I won’t reproduce on this page.

Wapama Falls Trail Description – from the dam to Tueeulala Fall

The trail to get right in front of Wapama Falls is said to be 5 miles round trip without much significant elevation gain (though there were some slight undulating sections).

Hetch_Hetchy_006_05312002 - Looking downstream into the rugged Poopenaut Valley, which might have been drier as a result of the O'Shaughnessy Dam's impact
Looking downstream into the rugged Poopenaut Valley, which might have been drier as a result of the O’Shaughnessy Dam’s impact

However, with Hetch Hetchy Valley being lower in elevation than Yosemite Valley, there were times when it got well into the 90s here, especially considering that most of the trail lacked shade.

So wearing a hat, bringing lots of water, and putting on sunscreen was definitely a must on this trail.

From the parking area by the O’Shaughnessy Dam (see directions below), we walked across the dam where we could see the panorama of Hetch Hetchy Valley looking east and the ruggedly dry Poopenaut Valley looking west.

At the end of the dam, we then entered a long, dark, and drippy tunnel, which provided some relief from the heat on a hot day.

Hetch_Hetchy_dam_005_04242004 - The tunnel at the far end of the O'Shaugnessy Dam
The tunnel at the far end of the O’Shaugnessy Dam

Even though the tunnel was dark, there was enough daylight on both ends that we could still see where we were going while also avoiding some of the larger puddles (so we didn’t need a flashlight on our visits).

Once out the other end of the tunnel, we then followed a trail that followed above the northern shores of the reservoir.

At no time was the reservoir accessible due to the steep dropoffs leading into the water with no way to get back up.

Even if we had an opportunity to get into the reservoir, it would be prohibited anyways since it was San Francisco’s drinking water.

Hetch_Hetchy_013_06042011 - Julie on the Wapama Falls Trail beyond the dam tunnel as the path skirted the northern shores of the reservoir
Julie on the Wapama Falls Trail beyond the dam tunnel as the path skirted the northern shores of the reservoir

The trail was pretty straightforward to follow as one trail junction about a mile into the hike was also well-signed (we kept right).

Beyond the junction, the trail surface became more dominated by granite (which can be slippery in rain) as it also crossed a stream or two.

These crossings may require some some nifty rock hopping under high water conditions.

Around this time, we also noticed a disjointed waterfall that sometimes may have better flow than Tueeulala Falls.

Hetch_Hetchy_022_06042011 - Looking up at an intermediate waterfall creating minor stream crossings on the Wapama Falls Trail. The National Geographic Topo! Map actually mislabeled this one as the Tueeulala Fall
Looking up at an intermediate waterfall creating minor stream crossings on the Wapama Falls Trail. The National Geographic Topo! Map actually mislabeled this one as the Tueeulala Fall

In fact, our Topo! map even mislabeled this particular waterfall as Tueeulala Falls.

Anyways, it turned out that the outflow of this waterfall was also responsible for those stream crossings mentioned above.

So if we saw this waterfall in high flow, we knew the stream crossing would be a bit trickier.

Beyond the crossing, the trail meandered a bit more amongst a mix of granite and dirt.

Hetch_Hetchy_042_06042011 - Context of the Wapama Falls Trail with Kolana Rock and the reservoir in the background under a rainy day in June 2011
Context of the Wapama Falls Trail with Kolana Rock and the reservoir in the background under a rainy day in June 2011

As a result of this barren stretch, we managed to get views across the valley without the vegetation obstructions.

In fact, throughout the entire stretch of hiking up to this point, we gained different perspectives of Kolana Rock looming across the reservoir as well as the inundated valley itself.

Finally after about 2 miles from the trailhead, we started to get underneath Tueeulala Fall.

Wapama Falls Trail Description – the final stretch to Wapama Falls

There was a footbridge at the base of Tueeulala Fall where we could gaze up at the falls which may or may not be impressive depending on its flow.

Hetch_Hetchy_002_scanned_05312002 - Looking up at Tueeulala Fall in high flow, which produced flooded conditions on the trail just past its footbridge
Looking up at Tueeulala Fall in high flow, which produced flooded conditions on the trail just past its footbridge

When it was flowing well, the stretch of trail beyond the footbridge was flooded enough to wet our socks as water would flow into the top of our hiking boots.

However, in all the times we did this hike, we encountered the flood only once.

The rest of the time, the trail remained dry and free of issues.

The trail briefly undulated before making a longer descent across a section of talus that culminated in some granite steps with part of Wapama Falls starting to come into view.

Hetch_Hetchy_027_06042011 - Context of Julie descending this loose rock section on the way down to the footbridges before Wapama Falls
Context of Julie descending this loose rock section on the way down to the footbridges before Wapama Falls

After about a 1/4-mile past the base of Tueeulala Fall, we were at the first footbridge beneath Wapama Falls.

Under flooded conditions, this section of the trail was completely covered in mist with some of the stream crossing over both the bridges and the drop-off exposed granite trail in between some of the bridges.

Again, we only encountered the flooded conditions once in all the times we’ve done this trail so usually traversing these footbridges was no big deal.

As for seeing Wapama Falls, the first footbridge gave us the most direct view looking right up to the top of the multi-tiered twisting waterfall.

Hetch_Hetchy_007_scanned_05312002 - Looking up at part of Wapama Falls in high flow
Looking up at part of Wapama Falls in high flow

However, this side also tended to be the mistiest side so taking photos from here was tricky, especially in high flow.

As we went further along the trail, the top part of the waterfall started to disappear.

However, then we were able to see other parts of the falls as its stream seemed to break up and fan out over the many giant boulders and gullies above the footbridges.

Once we got to the end of the last footbridge, we were able to look back at both Tueeulala Falls and Wapama Falls together.

Wapama_Falls_002_05312002 - Looking back across the footbridges and the base of Wapama Falls with Tueeulala Falls flowing well when this picture was taken at the end of May 2002
Looking back across the footbridges and the base of Wapama Falls with Tueeulala Falls flowing well when this picture was taken at the end of May 2002

In flood, the mist from Wapama Falls actually covered the view of Tueeulala Falls!

And when we looked towards Kolana Rock and the rest of Hetch Hetchy Valley, we started to see more of the back of the valley that we weren’t able to see from the dam.

This marked the turnaround point for our out-and-back hike to Wapama Falls (we were roughly 2.5 miles from the trailhead at this point).

However, we could’ve kept going beyond the footbridges towards Rancheria Falls and more of Hetch Hetchy’s backcountry.

To see what the continuation of this trail was like, see the Rancheria Falls page.

Authorities

Wapama Falls resides in Yosemite National Park near Groveland in Tuolumne 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.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: hetch hetchy, tuolumne county, evergreen, big oak flat, shaughnessy, yosemite, california, waterfall, sierra



Visitor Comments:

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Wapama Falls September 20, 2016 11:16 pm by Brian Jeppesen - I have seen your top 10 list and it is hard to debate the choices. That being said, I would take Wapama Falls over a number of the Yosemite Falls including Bridalveil Falls I would put it near the top of the list. So what does Yosemite Falls (and others) have that Wapama doesn't have.… ...Read More
Spectacular Fall April 7, 2009 6:30 pm by Michael Greene - This waterfall is not to be missed. One of my very faves anywhere! I've been to it twice - both in May during high snow melt in '06 & '07. During those times - the footbridge seems so long and you most likely will get wet. Looking up - it is almost impossible to see… ...Read More

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Johnny Cheng

About Johnny Cheng

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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