The Most Beautiful Places in Yosemite National Park

There’s scenic, then there’s this.

For nearly 3,000 years , Yosemite has captivated every human who ’s been prosperous enough to lay eyes on it . Of of course , the Ahwahneechee natives who originally live the Mungo Park did n’t need to contend with millions of visitors every year just to get a nice view of Half Dome , but even today ’s crowd ca n’t spoil this wonderland .

Arguably the most beautiful national car park in the area , Yosemite is a nonsuch of America ’s Best Idea . It ’s a place of unnerving landscape , breathless falls , loom granite tilt organisation , ancient elephantine sequoias , and vast undecomposed Alpine wild . There ’s something gorgeous around every corner . Here are some of the requisite you do n’t require to escape .

Vernal Fall

you’re able to spot this 317 - understructure waterfall from the unforgettable Glacier Point ( more on that later ) , but doing so means you ’re missing out on the flush of the iconicMist Trail . The track actually brings you past two drop — Vernal is a relatively easy 1.5 mile trek in , while the 594 - invertebrate foot Nevada Fall is another 1.5 miles . Known together as “ The Giant Staircase , ” the drop render the trail with its name , soaking tramp as they brave the slippery granite stairway . It ’s worth the effort : the view from the top of Vernal is a stunner , and continuing on leads to the effervescent Emerald Pool and the Silver Apron , a smooth granite side that looks just like a water glide ( it is decidedlynotactually a water glide ) . Definitely go early : This is a pop hike , and it ’s best to do it when you do n’t have to vie with crowds slipping all over the place .

Mariposa Grove

The giant sequoias that populate Mariposa Grove are n’t just big trees : they ’re among the oldest and most monumental be thing on Earth . This is home to some of America ’s most famous tree , including the Grizzly Giant , which , at 210 feet , is the twenty-fifth marvelous tree in the existence and has been part of the grove for between 1,900 and 2,400 yr . You ’ll also encounter the Fallen Tunnel Tree , which had a tunnel for knight - drawn carriages cut through it in 1881 . The grove ’s accessibility means it ’s crowd , but if you keep perish through to the upper orchard your strenuous hike will be rewarded with a more tranquil experience among the 500 + ripe redwood .

El Capitan

El Capitan — the 3,000 - animal foot , 1.5 - mile monolith that might just be the most renowned granite rock in the world — is a internal park ikon on the same level as Old Faithful . You do it El Capitan . But even this tremendous attractor for climbers — originally called To - tock - ah - noolah ( “ Rock Chief ” or Captain”)—can still hold surprises . Come in rainy mid- to previous - February and plunk down at theEl Capitan Picnic Areaon a clean evening before sunset , and you may just see the elusive “ Horsetail Firefall . ” At this time , the angle of the Dominicus hits on the urine from Horsetail Fall and turns it into a glisten red shower that attend like run lava .

Cathedral Lakes

These alpine lake are among the most telling you ’ll receive in the park , made extra serene thanks to their isolated location at the end of a crowd - thinning day hiking . The track , part of the 203 - mileJohn Muir Trail , is an eight - mile round trip-up pay back with not one but two lake . It ’s absolutely worth the endeavour just to see the reflection of Cathedral Peak in the waters of upper lake . To access this otherworldly area , you ’ll involve to hit the when Tioga Road is unfastened … usually late May or June through October or November , reckon on how much it snows .

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Bridalveil Fall

At a human knee - wobbling 620 feet , Bridalveil Fall is n’t even the biggest falls in Yosemite … not by a foresighted stab . It is , however , the most iconic and accessible thanks to its positioning a half - naut mi down a paved road . Unlike some of the more volatile fall that are hooked upon wet atmospheric condition to activate , Bridalveil feed all year long , though due to snowmelt it ’s most intense in the spring . If you go when the wind is blowing hard , you ’ll discover the reason the Native Americans called this waterfall “ Pohono ” or " Spirit of the Puffing Wind , ” as the water apparently blows sideways . This also give it the show of a veil , which … yeah , you ’re all caught up .

Hetch Hetchy

This valley and reservoir in Northwestern Yosemite is look out over by many , but that ’s exactly why you want to go there . The wilderness in this part of the park is a especially unagitated place to take in the lakes , streams , wildflowers , and wildlife that make their home between thousand - pes granite drop . With all of that lulu come a trivial sorrow : Hetch Hetchy is also home to a dam and reservoir that was sanction in 1913 to deliver urine to San Francisco ( as it still does today ) despite protests from environmentalists , include influential - but - controversialSierra Club father John Muir , who order , “ Dam Hetch Hetchy ? As well dam for water supply - tanks the mass ’s cathedrals and church , for no holier tabernacle has ever been ordinate by the heart of human being . ”

Yosemite Falls

This 2,425 - substructure waterfall is the fifth - highest in the macrocosm , and the most renowned of the one thousand of downfall in Yosemite ( only 20 are key out though ) . The water comes down with such military group that the noise echo through much of the vale in the natural spring , and the rainbow that surrounds it on sunny days is one of the most magical peck in the park . An all - day , highly strenuous raise will get you to the top , and March is typically when you ’ll see the most water . If you go in the summertime or fall , you may be disappointed : when the Charles Percy Snow pack disappear , so does the fall .

Three Brothers

To the eastern United States of El Capitan are three granite peaks called the “ Three Brothers , ” a name given to them by members of the Mariposa Battalion after they captured the three son of the last head of the Ahwahneechee at the base of the formation and vote out the young . That ’s pretty grim , which is why we much choose the Ahwahneechee moniker : " Kom - po - pai - ezed , ” which translates to something along the line of “ batch playing leap - frog . ”

The uppermost “ comrade ” is called Eagle Peak , and if you touch the summit you ’ll bask what John Muir address “ the most comprehensive of all the views ” available from the magnetic north bulwark . To get there , you ’ll require to hike nearly seven miles ( one - means ) with a ascent of over 3,500 feet , which will pretty much take all twenty-four hour period . If that sound a little daunting , head to theCathedral Beach Picnic Areainstead where you ’ll enjoy some of the park ’s beneficial thought of the trio of siblings .

Glacier Point

During six or seven month of the year , you may drive to this stupefying scenic overlook on the south wall 3,214 base above Curry Village , stand up where John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt once stood in 1903 , and take in perspective of all the park ’s keen hit , including Half Dome , Yosemite Valley , Yosemite Falls , Vernal Fall , Nevada Fall , and Clouds Rest . Want to go in mid - December through march ? You ’ll have to strap on transverse - country skis and hatch 10.5 - mile of snowfall - covered terrain . Just keep in psyche , Glacier Point will be closed to all dealings for the integral 2022 time of year to reconstruct the route .

Half Dome

Half Dome is Yosemite ’s most placeable formation due to its plain face and three round sides ( hence its name ) that loom 4,737 foot above the valley floor . This monarch of the park is telling from the ground , but the literal gotta - do - it - before - you - die feat is climbing to its peak . To do that , you ’ll need a concentrated - to - grudge Trachinotus falcatus and an aversion to vertigo , since the last part of the tramp is a 400 - foundation ascent that necessitate you to adhere to two bolted cable — a potentially deadly exploit that about 30 % of hikers turn back from . But make it to the top and you ’ll experience 360 - degree views of the Sierra Nevadas that words simply ca n’t explicate .

Tenaya Lake

carve by the same glacier that created Half Dome , Tenaya Lake is a glassy alpine lake surrounded by granite peaks that is perhaps the park ’s most beautiful body of water ( hence its nickname , “ the Jewel of High Country ” ) . Located between Yosemite Valley and Tuolumne Meadows , Tenaya Lake is only approachable when Tioga Road is open ( usually June through October ) . It ’s right off of the route so it ’s well accessible and offers picnic table , easy hikes , beaches with shallow waters for wading , and view you ’ll never forget .

Tunnel View

There may not be a more breathtaking view in the full world than the one at this vista made famous by Ansel Adams . Towering 500 substructure above the valley floor , Tunnel View lets you see a gang of the Yosemite classics — El Capitan , Half Dome , Sentinel Dome , Cathedral Rocks , and Bridalveil Falls — all in one shot . Because it ’s so easily accessible and because it ’s so stunning , it can be quite crowded , but somehow when you ’re stick out at the edge taking it all in , it ’s almost as if no one else is there .

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