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.

The scenery of Tenaya Lake is absolutely stunning from every angle, attracting photographers to…read morevisit and press shutters. However, tons of mosquitoes were assembling here, chasing and attacking you. Repellents are useless under such situation. Be careful!

One of my favorite places in Yosemite. In the summer it's all about the swimming in the beautiful…read moreshallow waters on the edge of the lake with little boulders to sit and sunbathe on. In the fall/winter we enjoyed walking on the beaches and watching the sunrise on the lake that was covered in a layer of steam.

The Wawona entrance to Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias was a new to me area of…read morethe park, when I visited in Mid-June 2026. Without the reservation system this year, even a weekday brings lines at the entrance kiosk. It was about a 45 minute wait. But, once entering the park, the Mariposa Welcome Center parking area had ample parking. The grove's gateway is just a couple of minutes from the Wawona entrance where there's a gift shop, restrooms and the shuttle bus to the grove (only runs seasonally.) I found the shuttles to run efficiently, albeit crowded. However, unless you want to hike up a steep paved road and add 2 miles to your hike, they're the only way up to the grove, as private vehicles are not allowed to drive or park there (those with disabilty tags are the exception.) The lower grove was packed and features the popular and iconic trees such as the Grizzly Giant and Tunnel Tree. It was too chaotic to really enjoy fully, but I was on my way to Wawona Point and the upper grove, so didn't linger in the main area too long. Once past the Grizzly Giant loop, the crowds exponentially thinned out and the forest became peaceful. It's a beautiful area and has a decent length hike to the upper grove, where the Guardians Loop trail was the standout along with Wawona Point (featuring a scenic overlook of the Wawona area.) The upper trails reminded me of a shorter version of Sequoia National Park's "giant forest loop." The trails were well kept and featured an array of wildflowers, green meadows and of course the iconic sequoias. You can make a longer loop or out and back and see most of the area in a longer day hike. It's a quieter and beautiful area of Yosemite that gets overlooked in comparison to the touristy lower grove and the valley. It is about a 45-50 minute drive to connect back down to the valley so you can visit both in one day, but I decided to linger and take my time in the beautiful upper grove areas. Either way, Mariposa Grove is a worthwhile stop in your Yosemite itinerary

Half day at Mariposa Grove. Parked at the visitor center and took a shutter. This will be the only…read morelocation for parking and shuttle ride. 6mins and you will reach the groves. We did the grizzly giant loop trail. Very easy and we took our time and enjoyed the trees. The trail is nicely kept and very easy to walk on. The end of the loop has a slight incline and it is all down hill from there and it peas straight out to the shutter.

One of my favorite hikes I've ever had the privilege of doing. We started in the morning, passed by…read moreVernal Fall, and went all the way to Nevada Fall. It was a scorchingly hot day when we hiked, so we took many breaks throughout. Luckily, there are plenty of shady, comfortable resting spots. The view from the top of Vernal Fall was already lovely, but I would highly recommend the trek all the way to Nevada Fall. The scenery from the top of Nevada Fall was breathtaking, and it was so lovely to see the beautiful rainbows at Vernal Fall. Keep in mind that there are slippery, steep steps on the way to Vernal Fall. It was a pretty steep hike up to Nevada Fall as well, with many loose rocks - we saw quite a few individuals slipping around. I'd recommend taking your time and going slow for the steepier sections.

We hiked From the beginning of Mist trail to base of Vernal fall. Parked at curry village and took…read morea shutter #14 to #16. It's a paved path with immediate incline. Like many people, we stopped a few times to catch our breath. Took our time and enjoyed the views and took lots of pictures on the way. When you get to the flight of stone stairs, you do have to climb up the stairs to reach the bottom of Vernal fall to get the whole experience of the mist. NO PONCHO or Raincoat needed at this point. Nice refreshing mist. You will not get soak or wet. After this point you will need it. We turn around and took the same route back down. Hope this help for people that does not want to hike the whole way up but still able to enjoy the view and experience the mist from the spectacular Vernal fall.

Reservation is required to drive into or through the park on some dates/times through Oct 27. Check…read morethe website for more information. You can enter the park without a reservation before 5 am or after 4 pm. Reservations are required at any time in between. The YNP South Side is amazing! Breath breathtaking views, beautiful waterfalls (Vernal & Nevada Falls), and much to explore. It takes about 45mins-1hr to get from the South Entrance to Yosemite Valley. We stayed about 25 minutes from the South Side Entrance and arrived at YNP around 4:30 am. We did not have to pay entrance fees and could experience the beautiful sunrise. If you can do that, please don't hesitate; it's so worth it. Plus, if you start early, you avoid the crowds and see more of YNP!

Its breathtakingly beautiful!! I enjoyed seeing all of the granite and the food was excellent.read more

Pro tip: Take the shuttle (approximately $15 per person round-trip). You take it from the Main…read moreLodge and they run every 20-30mins from 7amish to 730pmish (as of Aug 2025). You want to get off at Red's Meadow and hike to the falls. It's easy-easy/moderate and is the shortest distance to the falls. Do not take it from Devil's Postpile because it will add 1.5 miles of open sun hike to the falls. Once there, reward yourself with glass of wine and lunch. The water is cool to cold (depending on the time of year) and refreshing. Highly recommended

There's almost a guaranteed rainbow and maybe even a double rainbow if you're lucky at Rainbow…read moreFalls! From the shuttle stop, it's a 1.6 mile exposed hike to the falls, then some stairs to the bottom. We were prepared wearing our swimsuits to take a dip in the frigid water! Totally worth it. So beautiful!

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.

When you pick five stars the rating shows 'Woohoo! As good as it gets!' Uh well it should be 'damm…read moreit's as hard as it gets'. Don't believe the 'several dozen' switchback nonsense that the NPS will tell you. I think that means like 36. HA! I counted 113 on the way down. Erin S and I went on a backpacking trip up this trail last week-end. Our winter trip in summery conditions. Our packs were heavy because of the 4 season tent, bear can, and warm clothes. I was wearing a Suunto Ambit that said we had only gone a mile. How the 'H' is that possible when we had been climbing for almost two hours? This dang thing must be broken. The switchbacks are never ending and steep. Imagine this. For every tenth of a mile you will climb 100 ft. Can you visualize this? We set off from our car at the Happy Isle TH parking and made it to the TH cutoff for Snow Creek by 12:15. Hey we only have to climb 2.7 miles right? We should be at the top in camp by 4:00. At 4:00 I had readjusted my expectations to just get there in time to climb into my bag. A couple of day hikers passed us, and at the same time passed judgement, based on me laying on the ground gasping and crying for air. My pack was lying in the middle of the trail blocking any forward progress; I don't think they had much confidence in our (my) success. We finally made it to the footbridge as dusk was fading to full dark. Fortunately we had two days to recover and not think about having to go back down the evil switchbacks. I guess I should mention that the views are amazing of Half Dome, Quarter Domes, and all other manner of memorable granite objects. Take a moment from staring in misery at the ground as you trudge ever upward and take in the scenery. Makes it all worthwhile! BTW....the Suunto was correct. Ow...I need to take some more Advil and soak in some Epsom salt now. After I crawl out of my bed.

I bought all my shit to go backpacking and to become a mountain man. I've done a few day-hikes and…read morefelt I was ready for a big one, according to me. This is about a six mile hike, two miles through Mirror Lake and about four going up about 2,800 ft. in 99 switch backs. This hike beat me the F-ck up! It took me six hours to get up to the top, had dinner, good dinner and when we woke up we just decided to pack it up and get the hell out of Dodge! Coming down presented a new world of pain, I got a blister and my big toe nail turned purple??? This hike was way out of my league, I would not recommend it unless your are in shape, oh and by the way I was carrying 30+ lbs. of shit on my back! Incredible waterfalls through the hike and spectacular views once we got to the top including an incredible view of Half Dome from an angle I have never seen before! This is a great hike!