Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Northern California → Yosemite → Upper Yosemite Falls

         ♦ Intrepid Top Pick!

Location: Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California

Distance:  14.2 km (8.8 miles) roundtrip to Yosemite Point (less if you stop at Columbia Rock or the top of the falls)

Elevation Gain/Loss: 823 m (2700 ft)

Time Required: 4 hours

Red Tape/Notes: None.

What’s Nearby?: Bridalveil Falls, Sentinel Meadow, Lower Yosemite Falls, Mirror Lake, Mist Trail

The Upper Yosemite Falls trail to Yosemite Point is a great hike with ever-increasing payoff, the further you go. One of Yosemite’s oldest historic trails, the original trailblazers clearly had no fear of elevation gain, since it starts immediately with a series of switchbacks bringing you up 1,000 feet in a mile to Columbia Rock, where you’re rewarded for you efforts with great views of Half Dome, Sentinel Rock, and Yosemite Valley. From there it’s only another half a mile of easier hiking to a great view of the falls. The trail becomes steep again to get to the top of the falls, but you’ll obviously get great views from the top, and Yosemite Creek if very pretty in its own right. You can stop and soak your feet in the water if you’d like, you just want to pick a spot further upstream from the edge of the cliff. Because, you know…it’s a long drop. From the top of the falls, it’s less than a mile to Yosemite Point where you’ll get epic views of Half Dome and panoramic views of the valley.

Epic Travel → North America → The West Coast → Northern California → Yosemite → Upper Yosemite Falls