Accessible Path: Yes (compacted gravel, boardwalk)
Mileage: 0.5 miles each way, or 1 mile loop
Yosemite Valley is perhaps one of the most dramatic landscapes you’ll ever encounter. Sheer granite faces extend thousands of feet from the valley floor, rising to meet the clouds above. Water roars through channels carved in the granite monoliths, swiftly dropping down into the valley below.
Horsetail Falls, Bridalveil Falls and Sentinel Falls can all be seen from your car as you make your way into the valley. Chief among these mesmerizing displays of hydrological power, however, is Yosemite Falls: North America’s tallest waterfall.
Yosemite Falls drops more than 2,400 feet from the granite skyscrapers into the peaceful valley. The falls itself is comprised of three sections: the Upper Falls is the largest drop, plunging 1,400 feet; the Middle Cascades is a series of four smaller falls that is rarely visible; and the Lower Falls, the final drop into Yosemite Creek.
There are two ways to access the trailhead leading to the falls: you can park in Yosemite Village and walk a short distance from the accessible parking, or you can take the shuttle to the Number 6 stop. Once at the trailhead, you again have two choices: to take the Western Trail or the Eastern Trail. Both pathways will lead you to the falls, but the Western Trail has a 13% grade at the end, making it a little less accessible than the Eastern Trail. The Eastern Trail is is less steep with boardwalk and paved pathway.
If you think you’ll be able to manage the slope, the approach from the Western Trail is gorgeous; a perfectly framed view of the Upper And Lower Falls. That's not to say, however, that the approach from the East is undesirable. The Eastern Trail follows a wooden boardwalk that crosses over braided streams, offering glimpses of the Falls through the thick trees. For the purposes of this hike, we’ll follow the more accessible Eastern Trail.
From the trailhead, the accessible pathway is marked with the international symbol of access. It heads past the bathroom building, quickly transitioning from compacted earth and gravel to boardwalk foot bridges. These bridges cross over various branches of Yosemite Creek, offering glimpses of the falls as you make your way along the path.
Be sure to keep an eye out for the international symbols of access as you continue along the path. At times it may seem like you are heading away from the falls, bur rest assured, you’re on the right path. You’ll soon come to a tee in the path; take the left hand route. As you get closer, you’ll begin to hear the roar of the falls.
As you emerge out on to the viewing bridge, you quickly become encapsulated in a cloud of mist created at the bottom of the falls. The water rushes swiftly below your feet and you can truly feel the power that continues to shape the landscape. When you can no longer handle the unceasing spray on the bridge, continue across and enjoy the falls from a drier perspective.
Stay and admire the falls for as long as you like. When you're ready to return, head back out along the trail that brought you there. As you make your way back down the pathway you'll find that you keep turning your head back toward the falls, awestruck by the beauty and power of Yosemite Falls.
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