Mount Hoffmann, Yosemite: 2026 Aug 13…read more From Yosemite Valley, take highway 120 to the Crane Flat turnoff onto Tioga Road. Continue driving until you get to the May Lake trailhead. You can park and use the toilet before you start your hike. Heavy-duty, wildlife-resistant containers are available to store your food in. Elevation at the trailhead is 8,710 feet. Mt. Hoffmann elevation gain is 10,845 feet. It is a 10,850-foot peak near the geographic center of Yosemite National Park. Mount Hoffmann is named after Charles F. Hoffmann, cartographer. Charles F. Hoffmann named lake number 5 May Lake. May Lake nestles below Mt. Hoffmann. The hiking distance is only 5.6 to 6 miles round trip but this is a difficult and strenuous hike. The unmaintained boulders with loose rocks make this short hike challenging. The elevation and thin mountain air makes it hard to breathe and may cause your heart to beat faster. You may tire easily. This can also lead to altitude sickness if you do not rest and adjust. Make sure you hydrate constantly. Our pace was slow as we scramble up this 10,850-foot peak. Mt. Hoffmann's unmaintained steep and rocky granite boulders with loose rocks was extremely challenging for me. We didn't get to the very top. I heard thunder and felt droplets of rain, and decided to climb back down to avoid slipping on the rocks. The final push of about 200-feet involves climbing on loose gravel and granite rock that are covered with decomposed granite, one of the most insidiously slippery substances. These are some of the steepest and most treacherous climb, but if you make it to the top, you will be rewarded with a panoramic 360-degree views of Yosemite, including distant views of Half Dome and Tenaya Lake. The Mt. Hoffmann trail also includes some bonus views of May Lake. On the climb up, we saw a Marmot hanging out on a rock. He was a large, stout guy -- looking more like a house-cat than a squirrel. This guy probably weighs around 11 pounds. He was tame and quiet -- just holding on to the rock and allowed us to take pictures of him and even video-tape him. He must be used to humans scrambling up and down 'his' rock every day. On the way down, we moved to the side for horses to trot up the mountain. The poor horses were weighted down by heavy-looking camping gears. I hope they're well cared for and appreciated by humans who use their services. Along the way, stop and admire views of Clouds Rest and Half Dome. From afar, the distant mountains look majestic with a soft blue hue against the sky. We may attempt this hike again but I'll need to be better prepared for it. Source above: Wikipedia, Google

The things that went well: it is majestic! The views are incredible. I cannot recommend this park…read moreenough. I was happy to see additional parking being added. Arrive early!! A must. Have a plan. Ask questions at the visitor center and show up with patience, patience and understanding and more patience. Make a plan and make sure you know where you want to go. Last minute planning is dangerous. Don't do it. Now the miserable. Signs and directions are very few. It is so easy to get lost. Please be vigilant with directions. Even the staff and rangers are not familiar with this place. True story - Question - is this the way to staircase falls on the map? Answer, Vernal falls? Question: no Answer - sure. We ended up at the expensive hotel! Not one sign stated where things were. Some places have one or two markers. Make sure you don't walk past them or else. The roads could stand to be painted with information. The sidewalks as well. My favorite was the floor that was undergoing "restoration" with the small signs and rope all Lying in the dirt!! I was dying laughing as folks who had never seen the sign were trying to take photos. It was spectacular, as fails go. We must have made 3 loops in the village, no markings or directions. I would pay extra to have convicts or fire or someone volunteer to place signs, distance, directions through out. I know money is scarce, but let one of the administrators go and dedicate their salary to signs. This brought up My favorite part - Ansel Adams and the tunnel. Folks were parked where the tour vehicle needed to be. No one stopped or listened to the horn!! It was awesome. Several class b and one smallish class c were parked in the labeled parking that is not manned or patrolled. I know... send a ranger to show up 15 before the schedule and ensure folks know what is going on. They can answer questions. Get vehicles ticketed and then moved. What a concept!! Again, no signs. Folks just guessing. Oh, the other one, the guy that launched his drone... in spite of the sign he was standing in front of!! Maybe vendors selling items could help out. Not sure. Patrol supervisor could establish a point of contact for the public to ask questions and encourage people to move or obey signs. Options exist. Federal law enforcement... options. Okay, the last item is the outdated little info website. That thing is useless. I hope AI generates more information than the dated site. NSA or FBI could help out. As a courtesy!! The park itself is okay. The curry village has little to no breakfast options and the stores have nothing healthy. But they sell the best junk food money can buy. And with the minimum of alternatives, it sells. Pack food if you have dietary restrictions or needs. There is nothing selling. The fare is basic and do not expect unnecessary food. You can eat at the hotel or before you arrive. The small market is scarcely stocked. Bring water bottles. For some reason they want you to use metal or plastic containers. Be prepared for the wait at the one functioning fountain. 45 minutes is a record!! Soda abounds!! When the fast food joint is open. Also, plenty of ice cream options!!!!!!!! Again be patient with new or skittish drivers. If you can take a bus or tour group do that. Those guys seemed to know what to do and where things were located. Parking is at a premium. Final thought, be prepared to pay. Things are not cheap and the park is in CA. Third most expensive place in the world and country!!

Like Nevada Fall, Vernal is a gorgeous waterfall but it was a little small when I visited due to…read morethe lack of rain. Nevertheless, an amazing site and experience. Please come and create your own adventure.

The journey it took me to get here was crazy and I almost gave up twice, but that VIEW? All of the…read morenature and smell of the trees was breathtaking. The water was insanely cold, but felt really ~ refreshing ~ to jump in. Added years on my life and made me think about life. Great 5/6 mile hike, but expect lots of elevation and prep with the stair master! Bring your bathing suit and shoes that can get wet because it gets misty and rainy up there... I'd come back again! Parking is a bit rough, but just keep circling around because people are constantly leaving and arriving. Bathrooms are available right before the trail and halfway through the hardest part of the hike.

Finding a place to park for this hike was a struggle! We failed the last time we visited but…read moremanaged to figure it out this time. We parked at Yosemite Valley Trailhead Parking, took a short walk to Happy Isles and where the restrooms were, then took the free shuttle, got off after one stop at Mirror lake! And going back to the parking lot, we took the shuttle one stop again and it was a short walk back to the parking lot. This hike reminds me of the Little Yosemite hike in Sunol, CA in the Bay Area! It's paved for most of it and there's restrooms at the beginning and about midpoint of the hike. The fall foliage was beautiful, but the lake wasn't full since its fall. There was still some water in it since it rained and snowed not too long ago.

I had not done my research and was taken aback that mirror lake was completely empty when we came…read morein late September 2025. I was hoping to show my husband the lake for the first time to get the beautiful reflection but not this time. It was still fun to walk around in the lake bed and hike the surrounding trail and picnic here, but a real bummer not to get the reflection.

We love this location and it's so beautifully fresh green during late Spring. It's just so calm…read moreand peaceful and so blessed to walk around here or just to sit down glazing the waterfall and amaze at beauty of nature

Yosemite Lodge Lower Falls was definitely a different experience than I expected. I've visited…read moreYosemite before, but I had never seen the waterfalls completely dry. I was honestly a little sad when we arrived because seeing the falls flowing is such a beautiful part of the Yosemite experience. Unfortunately, this visit was very different, and I think the timing of the year made a huge difference. If you're coming specifically to see the waterfalls, I would definitely recommend researching the best time of year before planning your trip. Yosemite itself is still absolutely beautiful, but I don't think I'll ever come this late in the year again. I'll definitely plan a future visit earlier in the season when the waterfalls are more likely to be flowing.

This bridge is in half dome village, our one day guided tour stopped here for a short while to…read moreappreciate the stone bridge and Merced river underneath. The views on both sides of the bridge are the same beautiful. But the busy traffic on the bridge makes it hard to cross over so it's best to stay on the same side where you park. Often you can see the half dome reflection in the river too. We took time to enjoy the gorgeous views and took some real nice photos. A little red boat was passing through the river and it made the view look like a vivid oil painting! For some reason I really liked this stone bridge and the surrounding views especially the beautiful Merced river underneath. I suggest drive by or park somewhere to enjoy the gorgeous views of sentinel bridge and everything around!

Upper Yosemite Falls trail was definitely the hardest hike I've done. It was about 7.2 miles…read moreroundtrip, took exactly 7 hours starting at 10:40am and finally making it down at 5:40pm (5 hours going up, 2 going down), and was 2,700 ft of elevation gain. The terrain is mostly rocks and goes up most of the way, so it's an insane leg workout that left me sore for a couple days after. Going up was exhausting, but there's plenty of spots to sit down and take breaks. About halfway through, we stopped and ate snacks. Going down felt more difficult on my knees, but it was a lot faster. It also started to rain so we had to be careful about slipping. The views were absolutely beautiful and worth it every step of the way. I constantly stopped and took photos and admired it all. Once you get up to the top, you can get really close to upper yosemite falls on a narrow path along some rocks. If you're afraid of heights, you might be a bit scared. It was super chilly when we got up there. Almost everyone we encountered on the trail was super friendly, and it was fun to see familiar faces when we got up to the top and overhear people exclaiming how proud they are of themselves. Going in May when the weather was still cold (about 40° when we were here) was definitely helpful. I don't know if I would have been able to do it if it were hot outside. I get lightheaded pretty easily and there were times I felt like I was going to pass out, but I did it!! Definitely take breaks, don't rush yourself, drink plenty of water, and bring snacks. Make sure you have hiking boots!!! If I didn't have hiking boots I probably wouldn't have been able to do it.

Went mid-March valley floor hardly any traffic early 8 am. Got busy after 10am. Rode bikes Yosemite…read morevalley loop El Capitan, Half Dome, Horsetail, Bridal veil, and Vernal falls. Tried singletrack that paralleled then the crowds at Yosemite village slowed our pace to a crawl. A family of four walking side by side blocking the path completely. Even oncoming hikers gave them dirty looks. Selfish people have zero consideration or self awareness. If you go biking, go early to avoid crowds.

Review is for the Merced River Trailhead near Briceburg, this is very south of Yosemite but I…read moredidn't want to make a new review page just for this small trailhead. If you are taking 140 south leaving Yosemite you'll drive right next to the river and you can stop here. You can get under the freeway underpass for some nice variety but the main attraction is the River. There are small tributaries throughout this area and the kids enjoyed building dams with the rocks here. There are also some nice flat stones closer to the water if you want to teach the kids how to skip stones. There is a bridge you can hike over to for a higher view of the scenery, cars and trucks did drive in this smaller bridge so we didn't cross it all the way. Overall, it was a nice stop with plenty of parking and no one else there when we went, it's much more secluded than some of the more popular Merced River stops closer to Yosemite.

Beautiful river that feeds into Yosemite Valley…read more If you are entering the valley from the west which we did, you will be driving along the river for a while before the entrance of the park. The water is beautiful and clear and lots of people fish in the river. Tubing is also a fun activity to do. Take photos, enjoy the view!

10/10 would do it again! doors open at 8 am , it's not to long of a hike about 5-6 miles total…read moregoing and turning back! definitely take water & sandwiches!! make sure to take ur trash ! leave the trails clean !!!

4.28.18 Please note…read morethat the Gate to Hetch Hetchy opens from 8:00 am - 7:00 pm, so you can't start your hike earlier. A ranger will open the gate usually spot-on at 8 am and then you'll drive a mile or so to pay for entering Yosemite National Park. From there you'll have a 15-20 min drive to parking. For a day hike its in your best interest to not park in the backpackers parking campground but to continue on the road another mile to park literally right next to the dam. I started my hike at 8:35 am. The hike is fairly easy with lots of rolling hills and switchbacks, ups and downs. You'll come to Wapama Falls in about an hours hike. In the early Spring water is flowing at its peak. I came here 3 weeks ago but couldn't even make it to Wapama Falls because there was so much water running off the mountain that there were so many new waterfalls spilling onto the trail. A ranger came by as I couldn't get past one of them and told me that they need to rescue some Boy Scouts via boat because they camped up ahead and can't get past Wapama Falls because the bridge is covered with water. So three weeks ago I turned around and did a much smaller hike nearby. Wapama Falls is nice, a few bridges that provide views of the falls and much needed mist. You'll always have great views of Kolona and Hetch Hetchy because the trail is always on the North side of the mountain. Continue on for another 1:15-1:30 or so and you'll reach Rancheria Falls. You'll first see what appears to be a long water slide, don't stop there keep going and you may come across some backpackers and tents. Keep going... another 10 minutes or so on the trail. It will split, but stay RIGHT for another few minutes. There you will see the Rancheria Falls bridge and have a great perspective. This is an awesome spot to break for lunch. You can head back down and make your way to the river that flows into Hetch Hetchy, there are some pretty good spots to chill. Started my hike at 8:35, made it to Rancheria Falls bridge at 11 am. I took lots of videos and photos on my way up. I had lunch at the falls and left at 12:00 and arrived in the parking lot at 2:15. This is a long hike at 13 miles total.

Our tour guides were absolutely amazing (John and Mia) and they were very knowledgeable and helped…read moreanswer all of our questions (about Yosemite in general, specific famous features on our hike, and even random questions about birds and plant life). The hike is as advertised (in terms of ratings and what features you will see). They always put safety first and even offered to help carry our back packs when we got tired or were crossing a small stream! They treated us like close family/friends, were encouraging us along the way, and adapted to our pace and schedule. Our group ranged from age 6 to adult and we couldn't have made it to the end of the hike without them! Book them for your tours and have fun on your Yosemite Vacation!

Will definitely be booking again with John and Y Explore!!! Honestly when we booked the guided half…read moredome hike I went into it thinking we were just utilizing the purchased permits as hadn't won the lottery ourselves but as the day progressed I became more and more grateful for the wisdom and knowledge of our guide. From breathing techniques and tips for ascending and descending the cables to the order of of our group and perfectly timed rest breaks this was worth every penny as we had not only a successful summit but an overwhelming positive experience! Hubby and I are excited to travel again to more destination with Y Explore in the near future!

We had an excellent day with David. We booked a private tour for my wife and me. We are not so…read moreyoung so David tailored it to our pace and abilities (still made it to the top of Sentinel Dome- well worth the effort!). Literally went from the valley floor to the peak of sentinel dome. His knowledge of the park is outstanding. He picked us up at our lodge and dropped us there at the end of the day- even gave us the picnic we couldn't eat during the trip because clouds blocked the astrophotography portion. He even apologized for the clouds! An all day adventure; we were happily exhausted when we got back to Evergreen Lodge. Highly recommend.

Dave is AMAZING! We had the best day with him on our private tour of Yosemite. He is so fun,…read moreknowledgeable, a great conversationalist and made the day fabulous. I had the best time and felt like we got to really see Yosemite and get to know the park. I would 100% recommend booking with him and his company. Hands down the BEST!!