Upper Yosemite Falls - June 2022
Summary
The Upper Yosemite Falls trail is a very popular hike in Yosemite National Park in California. This hike traverses out of the Yosemite Valley and up to the base of the Yosemite Falls. The base of the falls connects many longer trails together, so there are many add-on options for this trail.
We ended up hiking the out and back linked above. This trail starts at a well-accommodated trailhead and quickly ascends into the wall of the valley. For those that would like to see Yosemite Falls close up, the Lower falls is an easy alternate hike, another option would be to take the trail linked above, but ending the trail early before more aggressive ascending is required. This would provide close up views while escaping from the tourism that comes with easier hikes to popular attractions.
Where
The Upper Yosemite Falls Trail is located in Yosemite National Park in California. It is a trail that starts in the Yosemite Valley and climbs up to scenic views of Yosemite Falls, Half Dome, and Sentinel Dome.
Logistics
This was our second day hike in Yosemite National Park. We stayed in North Pines Campground on site 519, which I would highly recommend. From the campground, we followed the one-way loop until we found parking near the trailhead noted in the AllTrails link. This area has a lot of extra parking and is a multi-use area, so parking should not be an issue for this hike. From there, the trailhead is pretty easy to find and signage helps keep you on trail rather easily. Starting early can help with the heat and crowds. We noticed many more people going up as we descended.
Hiking
We arrived at the trailhead right around 7:30AM. This hike has a slow, but steady climb of roughly 3,000 feet of elevation. You start out hiking in a wooded area for the first mile or so and then eventually open up to more scenic views. This hike provides you up close views of the valley’s walls. It’s amazing to see the magnitude of the walls and the variations in the rocks.
After you open up to views of the valley walls, you start a steep ascent to the top of the valley. There are many switchbacks at this point which helps provide “little wins” as you make your way closer to the top. Upon reaching the top, you’re reunited with forestry as the plateau introduces some of the largest trees I have ever seen! In addition to the giant trees, you’re able to hike on rock face, which is one of my favorite terrains to hike on.
From here you can hike to various points of interest, but we chose to hike to the overlook and base of the falls. There is a small side trail you can take to get up close to the falls as they descend into the valley. You need to follow a steep, exposed trail to get to this point, but there is a hand rail to assist for those faint of heart. This was worth doing to see Yosemite Falls from yet another angle and really see and feel the magnitude of this river. After taking this side trail, we decided we wanted to rest near the river, but a bit up stream. We took an alternate trail to the river and found a relaxing place to hang out and grab a snack.
The views and cold water of the river were hard to leave. This was one of the best moments of the trip for me as it was a beautiful sunny day, we had already hiked quite a bit that morning, and the scenery was breathtaking. I probably could have sat with my feet in the river for 4 hours! Eventually, we all agreed it was time to descend back to the base of the valley. Given this was an out and back style hike, we cruised down dodging the hikers who chose to take a later start to the day.
I would highly recommend this hike. It has a lot of opportunity to make into a great day hike with side options once you ascend out of the valley. Especially if you visit in the Spring or early Summer, Yosemite Falls is absolutely worth seeing up close and personal.
Photos
All photos were taken with my current phone at the time, which was the iPhone 12 Pro.
