Yosemite · Things to do

The signature Valley climb, scaling from a 1.6-mile round trip up to about 8 miles, with 400 to 2,000 feet of gain depending on whether you stop at the footbridge, Vernal Fall or Nevada Fall. Moderate to strenuous; in spring the lower section genuinely soaks you, which is where the name comes from.

Yosemite Falls drops 2,425 feet in three stages — Upper 1,430 feet, middle cascades 675 feet, Lower 320 feet — flowing roughly November to July, peaking in May and usually dry by August; the Lower Fall loop is 1 mile and 50 feet of gain, the full Upper Fall trail 7.2 miles and 2,700 feet. In mid to late February, Horsetail Fall on the east side of El Capitan catches the sunset and glows orange, watched from the El Capitan picnic area on Northside Drive.

A viewpoint 3,214 feet above Curry Village looking straight across at Half Dome, Yosemite Falls and the high country, reached by a short paved wheelchair-accessible path from the car park. It is about an hour and roughly 30 miles by road via Wawona Road and Glacier Point Road, which is open to cars only from about late May to October or November.

Over 500 mature giant sequoias near the South Entrance, including the roughly 3,000-year-old Grizzly Giant. A free shuttle runs from the Welcome Plaza about every 15 minutes, 8am–7pm from 3 May to 23 September 2026 and shorter hours after that. Walks range from the flat 0.3-mile wheelchair-accessible Big Trees Loop to the 7-mile Mariposa Grove Trail up to Wawona Point.

45.5 miles from Crane Flat to the Tioga Pass entrance, and the only road across the park's high country. Plowing usually starts mid-April and the road typically opens late May or June and closes some time in November; services along it are limited, so carry your own food and water.