Wapama Falls
YOSEMITE VALLEY
Regional Overview
The centerpiece of Yosemite National Park, Yosemite Valley absolutely lives up to its reputation as one of the more stunning settings on Earth. The 6 miles of valley floor are lined by 3,000-foot walls, pinnacles, and waterfalls. The iconic shapes of El Capitan and Half Dome dominate the skyline. At the valley’s eastern end is Tenaya Canyon, with its even more expansive granite slabs reaching to the summit of taller peaks.
Because others share my admiration for Yosemite Valley, it is also very, very crowded, especially during late spring and summer months. This is not a location to visit if you seek solitude. But it is likewise not a place to shun just because you will not be by yourself. People visit iconic attractions because they are just so exquisite. The easiest way to avoid most of the people is to stay in the park and begin your walks early in the day; until 10 a.m. the crowds are manageable (and summer temperatures more pleasant). Fall is quieter, but of course the waterfalls are only dribbling and the flowers have faded. While the Yosemite Valley walks that climb upward are icy (and closed) in winter, the walks on the valley floor are accessible year-round, and a thin layer of snow is a beautiful decoration. May and early June are the best times to see the waterfalls roaring, and it is worth putting up with the crowds to visit then.
The walks climbing above the valley floor are all steep and not ideal for young children, but the valley floor walks (Bridalveil Falls, Base of El Capitan, Swinging Bridge and Superintendent’s Bridge, Lower Yosemite Fall, and Mirror Lake) are short and have much less elevation change. The Base of Vernal Fall (Hike 10) is the first of the waterfall hikes to attempt as a family—and if your children are sufficiently engaged by the drenching water, you may just find that they are willing to continue upward; kids seem to like the steep steps a lot more than adults. The two more difficult valley hikes, Upper Yosemite Fall (Hike 6) and Mist Trail and Clark Point (Hike 11) offer superb views of waterfalls and surrounding granite slabs and domes, but they are steep and longer—that is, difficult. Two hikes that finish in Yosemite Valley, the Panorama Trail and the Four Mile Trail, are described in the next section, Glacier Point Road and Wawona. I recommend them as one-way hikes from Glacier Point into the valley, allowing you to enjoy the stunning views obtained from the middle of the valley’s walls without having to climb uphill.
Staring 3,000 feet up the face of El Capitan
Nevada Fall from the Mist Trail
4 Base of El Capitan
Trailhead Location: El Capitan Meadow, west end of Yosemite Valley
Trail Use: Hiking
Distance & Configuration: 0.8-mile out-and-back
Elevation Range: 3,970 feet at the start, with 280 feet of ascent/descent
Facilities: No amenities are at the trailhead. The closest toilets are at Bridalveil Falls, and toilets and water are available at Yosemite Lodge.
Highlights: Surreal views of a 3,000-foot granite face
Middle Cathedral Rock from El Capitan Meadow
DESCRIPTION
The unmarked use trail to the base of El Capitan gives you an unusual panorama of the imposing granite face—straight up and up and up. From the base you lack the perspective gained from standing in a nearby meadow, making it difficult to estimate the wall’s height. Combine this walk with a visit to El Capitan Meadow to admire the mountain from a bit farther back.
THE ROUTE
The unmarked, but obvious, trail begins at the far eastern end of El Capitan Meadow, about 300 feet after the two roads entering the meadow merge. Walking along the right-hand edge of an open black oak and ponderosa pine woodland, you reach a large opening through which the Valley Loop Trail passes (0.15 mile from start). Walk north to the back of the opening—in the direction of El Capitan. Here you will find a use trail that zigzags quite steeply up to the monolith’s base. The many climbers heading for the rock have created a well-worn route, allowing you to avoid burrowing into the dense manzanitas and huckleberry oaks that cover the slope. As you exit the scrub at the base of the rock, take a look at where you are—the start of the trail here is a little hidden on the return (0.4 mile).
Now walk up to the base of El Cap and touch the nearly 3,000-foot wall. Without trees for scale, the wall feels dimensionless to me and I’d be hard pressed to decide if it were 100 or 10,000 feet high. Look up, up, up through binoculars if you have them, maybe glimpsing climbers high above you. You are standing just to the right of the most famous route, the Nose, which approximately follows the corner where the eastern and western halves of the face meet. Notice how few newly fallen rocks are at the base of the wall. Like most of Yosemite Valley, it is composed of very solid rock. The vegetated slope you just walked up is composed of rock from much older falls, so rock is indeed shed here as well, but by chance there has not been recent activity.
When you are finished, retrace your steps to the car (0.8 mile). Before you drive away, walk into El Capitan Meadow, just across the road, to gain a second perspective on the peak and to enjoy some of the other walls and pinnacles gracing the western half of Yosemite Valley, including Cathedral Rocks and Cathedral Spires to the south.
TO THE TRAILHEAD
GPS Coordinates: N37° 43.452′ W119° 38.071′
Two roads, Northside Drive and Southside Drive, run the length of Yosemite Valley. For most of their length they are both one-way, with traffic traveling east (toward Half Dome) on Southside Drive and west (out of the valley) on Northside Drive. El Capitan Meadow is accessed from Northside Drive. It lies 2.5 miles west of Yosemite Lodge, just beyond where a crossover road merges with Northside Drive.
5 Bridalveil Falls
Trailhead Location: West end of Yosemite Valley
Trail Use: Hiking
Distance & Configuration: 0.8-mile out-and-back
Elevation Range: 3,970 feet at the start, with 100 feet of ascent/descent
Facilities: Toilets are at the trailhead. Water is available at many locations around Yosemite Village, Yosemite Lodge, and Curry Village.
Highlights: