YOSEMITE WATERFALL HOW TO
YOSEMITE WATERFALL FULL

The loop is a bit longer, but the descent is much more gradual, and you avoid down-climbing the Mist Trail’s slippery rocks. Or, as I much prefer, you can make a 6.5 loop by going up the Mist Trail and connecting to the John Muir Trail to return to the trailhead. Two waterfalls, two famous trails, and incredible vistas-there’s a reason why this is the most popular day hike in all of Yosemite! The hike comes to 5.4 miles as an out-and-back on the Mist Trail. Oh, and hikers get absolutely spectacular views towards the valley from the trail. The upper Montane summit of Nevada Fall is truly breathtaking, dominated by granite slick rock and massive Jeffery Pines. There are several excellent viewing areas, including a railed ledge hanging right next to the big plunge! The same water then meanders down to feed Vernal Falls. Nevada Fall sits at 5,971 feet in elevation and plunges straight down an impressive 594 feet drop. This vapor hanging in the air creates floating rainbows, the consistent companions of Vernal Fall. However, there is hardly a shortage of appreciation when one approaches Vernal Falls. After a drop of 317 feet, instead of resting, the water suspends in a mist across the trail below! A sloping wedge of granite sticks out at the base of the fall, causing the water to spray out instead of dive straight back into the Merced River.

YOSEMITE WATERFALL FULL

Before witnessing the full spectacle of the Fall, the footbridge crossing of the Merced River allows hikers to appreciate the power that Vernal generates just a few hundred feet upriver.

Who doesn’t love a two for one!? The first of two magnificent waterfalls visited on this hike is Vernal Falls.

YOSEMITE WATERFALL HOW TO

Use this guide on your next trip to discover the best waterfall hikes in Yosemite! You will find a description of each waterfall hike including trip notes, how to get there, when to go, what the crowds are like, and what you should bring with you. With so many wonderful waterfall hikes in Yosemite, it is difficult to know where to begin. These mighty forces are why Yosemite is home to so many waterfalls: majestic cascades of water falling high from granite peaks. Glaciers moved through Yosemite Valley, carving and defining the iconic mountainscape we know today. A shift in plate tectonics caused a great tilt, changing what were once meandering streams into fast-flowing rivers. Over millions of years, granite rose from underground to reveal itself as the Sierra Nevada range. Yosemite National Park in California is perhaps the crown jewel of the United States’ Park system.

Yosemite waterfall