Yosemite National Park in California is famous for its waterfalls, granite walls and domes – the best known are El Capitan and Half Dome. In the summer of 2018 we lived and worked here on Work & Travel, so on our days off we set out on one trail after another. Below are the ones we hiked – from the highest waterfall in North America to viewpoints over the whole valley – plus what we saw when we came back in October. The Yosemite trails are easy to combine with the free park shuttle buses, which take you to the start of most routes in the valley. Each trail also comes with a video from my vlog from that day.
Table of contents
- Yosemite Falls and Yosemite Point
- Mist Trail – Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall
- Mirror Lake
- Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point – in wildfire smoke
- Valley Loop, Tunnel View and Bridalveil Fall
- Rafting on the Merced River
- Back in October – Tioga Road and Sentinel Dome
- Practical information
Yosemite Falls and Yosemite Point
On 2 July we hiked to the top of Yosemite Falls – the highest waterfall in North America and, according to some rankings, the 10th highest in the world. The whole cascade is about 740 m tall: the upper fall is 436 m, the middle section 206 m and the lower fall 98 m. The Upper Yosemite Fall Trail is steep and winding, goes mostly uphill and in full sun – we would rate it as hard. On the way there are three streams where you can refill your water (ideally with a filter).
The top of the fall lies at about 2080 m. From the upper part of the fall it is worth walking another 1.5 km or so to the Yosemite Point viewpoint (2115 m) – from there you can see even more peaks, including Half Dome and North Dome. Altogether we walked about 14 km that day. The heat, the full sun and the steep climbs made it our hardest hike in the USA at the time – we could only carry a limited amount of water, so we refilled it in mountain streams at every opportunity.
9:47Mist Trail – Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall
The Mist Trail is one of the most popular trails in the park – it climbs stone steps along the Merced River past two waterfalls. First you pass Vernal Fall (about 97 m), where in summer the spray soaks you (hence the trail’s name), and higher up Nevada Fall (181 m) at the foot of the granite dome of Liberty Cap. You can return the same way or along the John Muir Trail, with views of both falls from above.
We hiked it on 17 June: up the Mist Trail and down a section of the John Muir Trail – about 10 km in total. We reached the tops of both falls: Vernal Fall ends at about 1535 m and Nevada Fall at about 1820 m. Even though it was a sunny day we got wet, because the wind blew water from the fall onto the trail. At the time it was the longest trail we had hiked in Yosemite, and by far the most beautiful.
9:53Mirror Lake
Mirror Lake is a shallow lake at the foot of Half Dome – a remnant of the lake that filled Yosemite Valley after the glacier retreated. In spring and early summer the surrounding peaks are reflected in it; in the dry months it turns into a meadow with a stream. It is a short, easy walk, good for a rest day between longer hikes.
We were here on 15 June, our fourth day in the USA. The lake lies in Tenaya Canyon, between North Dome and Half Dome, and the loop around it is about 4 km. That day we just missed a bear – hikers ahead of us warned that they had seen it heading down to the river.
The next day, starting from the same place, we looked into the Ahwahnee hotel (from 2016 to 2019 it was called the Majestic Yosemite Hotel) – rooms here cost from several hundred dollars a night. The hotel has a story about the ghost of Mary Curry Tresidder, who died in 1970 and is said to still be seen here. The Ahwahnee’s interiors also inspired the look of the Overlook Hotel in Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” (1980).
8:34Four Mile Trail to Glacier Point – in wildfire smoke
On 15 July we took the Four Mile Trail (about 7.7 km, or 4.8 miles, one way) up to the Glacier Point viewpoint (2199 m), from which you can normally see the two- and three-thousand-metre peaks around the valley. Something went wrong, though – instead of mountains we saw “fog”. It was smoke from a large wildfire (the Ferguson Fire), which had broken out two days earlier more than 30 km from where we were staying. In the morning visibility was good, but it got worse with every metre. We sat at the top for a long time waiting for the smoke to clear – in the end, with a favourable wind, we saw at least the outlines of the peaks and part of the valley. We had planned to descend on the other side, along the Panorama Trail past Vernal and Nevada Falls (an extra 13.5 km or so), but in the smoke there was no point – we went back the same way, about 16 km in total. On the way we could see how much Yosemite Falls had shrunk since the beginning of July – in summer, once the snow has melted, it regularly “dries up”.
The Ferguson Fire broke out on 13 July near Savage’s Trading Post, about 30 km south-west of Yosemite Village – as it later turned out, caused by an overheated car catalytic converter. At the time we knew little about it and were sure it would be put out quickly; all we noticed were power cuts (the service buildings in the park have their own generators). A few days later the fire closed the whole park – the evacuation has its own post: Evacuation from Yosemite.
5:43Valley Loop, Tunnel View and Bridalveil Fall
On 9 July we walked more than 20 km – the whole Yosemite Valley Loop Trail (18.5 km) along the valley floor. On the way a park ranger offered, on his own initiative, to drive us to the Tunnel View viewpoint – the most famous view of Yosemite Valley. From the left you can see: El Capitan (2307 m), Horsetail Fall, Clouds Rest (3027 m), Half Dome (2694 m), Sentinel Rock (2145 m), Cathedral Rocks and Bridalveil Fall. You can also drive to Tunnel View – the name comes from the Wawona Tunnel right next to it.
The loop also passes below El Capitan – a vertical, roughly 900-metre granite wall on which you can almost always see climbers. Two well-known films have been made about it: “The Dawn Wall” (2017), about the first free ascent of the hardest route on the wall by Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson in 2015, and the Oscar-winning “Free Solo” (2018), about Alex Honnold’s 2017 climb – alone and without any protection, the first person in history to do so.
The main attraction of the day was Bridalveil Fall (189 m) – according to an Ahwahneechee legend, one of the park’s “haunted” places: Pohono, the wind spirit living in it, was said to lure people to the edge of the fall and push them into the abyss. No path leads to the top of the fall; we scrambled over the rocks as close as we could get.
7:13Park employees also pass on tips about lesser-known spots that no official paths lead to. One of them is “the couch” – a rock on a rise above Half Dome Village shaped like a sofa, so you can sit on it “comfortably”. The first time I went there was at night on 22 June with my roommate – under the stars, with the mountains lit by the moon; on 1 July we went together in daylight, and the third time – already in the wildfire smoke – in the evening with a friend from Colombia. The way starts south of Half Dome Village (now Curry Village), near Staircase Falls: from the swimming pool in Half Dome Village it is about 20 minutes of a short but steep climb over loose stones. From the top, above the treetops, you can see Half Dome, North Dome and Yosemite Falls.
4:03Another such spot is “Devil’s Bathtub” above the Ahwahnee hotel – the name comes from the water running down an almost vertical wall. We went there on 23 July with friends, already in the wildfire smoke, wearing masks and buffs. The route is not long, but there is no path, so the hardest part was finding the way – through the forest and partly along the rocks, starting from the Ahwahnee. The spot lies roughly opposite “the couch” and Glacier Point, below North Dome. It is at its best in spring and early summer, when more water runs down the wall. You reach both places off-trail, over rocks – at your own risk.
2:47Rafting on the Merced River
On 8 July we went on a raft trip of a few hours down the Merced River through Yosemite Valley. In 2018 the water level was very low, so several times we had to get out of the raft and drag it on – but it was still fun. With the employee discount (50%) we paid US$14.25 per person. The trip starts at Half Dome Village (now Curry Village) and is about 5 km long; on the way we stopped to swim in the icy water, with views of Half Dome and Yosemite Falls. Rafting in the valley is calm, more about the views than adrenaline, and only runs when the water level is right.
6:49Back in October – Tioga Road and Sentinel Dome
During our month-long trip around the USA we still found time to come back to Yosemite on 12–14 October and stay with friends. This time we came in from the north-east, along Tioga Road over Tioga Pass (we had spent the night before near Mono Lake) – on the way you pass lakes and granite domes in the high country of the park. The road is open only seasonally, usually from late spring to autumn.
Apart from the places we already knew, we climbed Sentinel Dome (2476 m) – a short trail near Glacier Point, with one of the best views of El Capitan, Yosemite Falls and Half Dome from the top. This time without smoke.
Practical information
- Getting around – free park shuttle buses run around Yosemite Valley and take you to the start of most trails (Mist Trail, Mirror Lake, Yosemite Falls).
- Half Dome (2694 m) – a peak that looks like half a mountain (hence the name). To climb the cables to the summit you need a permit from a lottery. We had planned the climb, but the fire got in the way.
- Entrance – a 7-day pass per car or the annual America the Beautiful pass; on some dates entry reservations were also required. From 2026, visitors from outside the USA pay an extra US$100 per person in Yosemite or buy an annual non-resident pass for US$250 – check the current rules at nps.gov/yose.
- Water – there are free drinking water stations in the valley and along the trails, so a reusable bottle is enough (this is how the park cuts down on plastic waste). In summer you need to drink a lot – it is hot on the trails.
- Food and bears – food has to be stored so that animals cannot get to it (metal lockers at car parks and campsites), and feeding animals is forbidden. Bears come very close here – we saw them several times, once in a tree by the road eating apples.
- When to go – the waterfalls are fullest in spring and early summer; in August and September some of them dry up. In summer you have to reckon with wildfire smoke.
Photo gallery
