Looking up at the top of Yosemite Falls
Upper Yosemite Falls Trail
Distance: 7.2 miles : Elevation: 2,700 ft : Difficulty: Strenuous: Time: 6-8 hours round trip
Yosemite Falls is a Yosemite park staple that you can’t always appreciate. I’ve only been to the park twice, once in the very beginning of June and once in the beginning of October and when I came in October Yosemite Falls was bone dry, so if you want to see this beauty in its full majesty you may want to plan your visit to coincide with the best part of the season for water.
To start this hike find the trail head behind Camp # 4, the only first come first serve camp site in the valley, and very popular with rock climbers. At the back of the camp site you should see the trailhead with the sign for the trail mileage, one thing that’s very nice in Yosemite Park is that all the trails are very well marked. You start climbing as soon as the trail starts, before long you will be looking back down at the valley floor enjoying the view as you huff and puff. In about 1 mile into the hike you should reach Columbia Rock and some great views of the valley including Half Dome off in the distance. After another .5 miles or so you should start seeing the bottom of Yosemite Falls, eventually the trail leads very close to the bottom of the falls allowing you to feel the mist and gander at the spectacle of the falls ( you can head off the trail towards the falls but be ready to get drenched). At this point the trail turns toward the sheer cliffs on you left side and starts a relentless climb towards the plateau near the top of the falls, be ready to give your legs and lungs a workout at this point. Eventually you will make it to the top of the trail and see signs that tell you the other points of interest you can reach from the top trail. Keep following the signs and in no time you will see the trail split, going straight ahead for Yosemite Point and heading to the right for the Yosemite Falls Overlook, head to the right and in no time you will be enjoying some spectacular views of the valley from directly over the mouth of the falls.
