Waterwheel Falls

Yosemite National Park, California, USA

About Waterwheel Falls

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Waterfall Safety and Common Sense

Waterwheel Falls could very well be the most unusual waterfall in Yosemite.

What made this waterfall so unusual was that it featured a big waterwheel (where water jumps into a groove or depression then gets thrown high in the sky as the water leaves the groove or depression before continuing downstream).

Waterwheel_Falls_004_06052004 - Waterwheel Falls
Waterwheel Falls

Indeed, it was one of those rare waterfalls where we cared more about how far up the water was thrown instead of how far down it dropped.

And while LeConte Falls also featured waterwheels, that one had the quantity of small- and medium-sized waterwheels.

However, this one had the big massive one! If I had to guess I’d say its waterwheel could have approached 30ft in height (just from looking at trees closest to the waterwheel).

Anyhow, there was no doubting that this was indeed the real deal, especially after comparing its GPS waypoint with my topo map.

Waterwheel_Falls_069_06052004 - Contextual view of the profile of Waterwheel Falls
Contextual view of the profile of Waterwheel Falls

From what I can recall, signs near Glen Aulin say it was about 3.3 miles from there to Waterwheel Falls.

However, below the last waterfall, we went as far as Return Creek where there was trail signage indicating we had gone 11 miles from Tuolumne Meadows thereby establishing the maximum distance we hiked (if we went by the signs here).

So if one were to tally up the overall distance from Tuolumne Meadows at the start to this waterfall at the end, I’m guessing it’s around 20 miles round trip with 1900ft elevation loss.

However, I admit that our notion of distance was probably a bit sketchy at this point.

One Hike, Many Waterfalls

LeConte_Falls_007_05302004 - The waterwheels on LeConte Falls
The waterwheels on LeConte Falls

The long hike passed by four main waterfalls on the Tuolumne River, which were Tuolumne Falls, The White Cascade (Glen Aulin Falls), California Falls, and LeConte Falls, respectively.

Each of these waterfalls have their own detailed trail descriptions so if you’re interested in reading about what the trail was like to get up to LeConte Falls (the last waterfall prior to Waterwheel Falls), then please consult the content in those pages in order.

So continuing the descent from LeConte Falls (which seemed to be easily confused with Waterwheel Falls due to it also having waterwheels), the trail descended rather steeply as we were able to get profile views of the sloping cascade along with its waterwheels.

Eventually, the trail leveled off a little beyond LeConte Falls, but then it didn’t take long before we hit the next descent, which was even steeper than that of LeConte Falls.

Waterwheel_Falls_074_06052004 - Profile of the big waterwheel
Profile of the big waterwheel

At the beginning of this descent, we were already directly above Waterwheel Falls, and according to our GPS track log, it was an additional 1/4- to 1/2-mile hike between LeConte Falls and Waterwheel Falls.

During our visit, we came just in time to see its massive waterwheel produce enough mist in the air to create a bright and full arcing rainbow.

And while checking out the waterwheel from here was a treat, it was definitely worth continuing a bit more the descent on the main trail to get additional views of Waterwheel Falls as well as appreciate its context.

To remove any doubt that there were more worthwhile waterfalls on this day hike, my Mom and I actually made it to the bottom of this steep descent into the head of the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River.

We would ultimately make it to a bridge over Return Creek though the whitewater on the Tuolumne River continued rushing further downstream.

Waterwheel_Falls_042_06052004 - Approaching the bridge over Return Creek further downstream of Waterwheel Falls
Approaching the bridge over Return Creek further downstream of Waterwheel Falls

Return Creek was our turnaround point, and a sign nearby indicated that it was 11 miles to return to the Tuolumne Meadows (meaning it would be 22 miles round trip if we were to start hiking back now).

And just to give you an idea of how vigorous Waterwheel Falls was, we actually saw mist rising high above the trees as we gazed up the river from the Return Creek vicinity.

So in summary, we ended up partaking in a grueling 22-mile marathon (especially when done in a day as my Mom and I managed to do in June 2004).

Our Marathon Hike Strategy

You may ask: how was it possible to pull off such a long hike in one day?

Waterwheel_Falls_073_06052004 - Looking into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River from Waterwheel Falls in June 2004. We turned around before going too deep into this canyon
Looking into the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne River from Waterwheel Falls in June 2004. We turned around before going too deep into this canyon

Well, the strategy my Mom and I employed (besides getting an early start) was to go directly to Waterwheel Falls as soon as possible, then slowly make our way back up to the trailhead while enjoying the waterfalls on the return.

The major waterfalls seen on the way back up also acted as rest breaks since the hike back was all uphill.

Coupling the seemingly endless string of waterfalls and cascades with the backcountry beauty of the high country compelled by Mom and I to consider this excursion one our most memorable ever.

Authorities

Waterwheel 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.

Maps and Routing Content are for annual subscribers. See Membership Options.
Content is for subscribers. See Membership Options.
Tagged with: tuolumne, mariposa county, high country, yosemite, tioga, sierra, california, waterfall, glen aulin, waterwheel, tuolumne meadows



Visitor Comments:

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Glen Aulin Hike (Waterwheel Falls) August 2, 2008 10:00 pm by Mike Gregg - I've never been on a hike more than a mile or two, but I found your site and was inspired to go out to Yosemite and do the Waterwheel trek via Glen Aulin from Tuolomne Meadows. I did it in one day as well, and had a great time. The only downer was that my… ...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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