Yosemite’s Vernal and Nevada Falls – November 15, 2011

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After setting up at Campsite 4 on Day 1, we went to the visitor center to ask the National Park Service rangers about trails in the valley (since we did little planning prior to arrival). The workers were very friendly and provided us with a wealth of information. Based on the intel, Luke and I decided to hike the Vernal and Nevada Falls Trail (see below), and the Yosemite Upper Falls Trail (See Part 4, links above), while in Yosemite.

The Vernal and Nevada Falls trailhead starts near Happy Isles, in the Southeast part of the valley (see map). You cannot drive / park there (nearest parking is 0.5 miles away), but there are Yosemite shuttles that can drop you off just short of the trailhead, next to the Merced River.

From the trail head, it’s ~ 1.8 miles to the top of vernal falls and 3.7 miles to the top of Nevada Falls… this sign was not placed at the trailhead, ironically (left). On another note, the colors trailside were amazing,

…let alone the wildlife.

Further up the trail, you run into an inconspicuous junction of the Merced River with Milouette Creek.

A short while later you will cross Vernal falls bridge, where you can get a preview glimpse of the waterfall (left). From this point, you will be pretty much hiking up a well chiseled, granite staircase until you reach the top of Vernal falls.

The water looked amazingly clean, but freezing cold… I assume most of this water is glacier melt, and near freezing… being late fall.

The well-maintained masonry continues further, and past a some huge boulders leaning on each other.

The trail totally reminded me of Diamond Head (in Honolulu) on steroids, haha.

There were quite a few ground squirrels running around, but this is the only one who was friendly enough to approach… and I didn’t even have food! Given this is a wide-angle lens, I was probably less than a foot away! Like a statue, seriously.

After you pass the statue, you will reach an amazing lookout from the top of Vernal Falls.

Just beyond the falls in the “Emerald Pool” which is probably far more green/blue in color earlier in the day, or in the spring/summer months (left). The Silver Apron, a smaller falls, is a few minutes past the pool…

…where there is wide, wooden bridge that crosses it.

The bridge is also a great place to practice your “ribboning” effect of the water in your photos.

From here, the top of Nevada falls is just 1.3 miles away… and trust me, it’s well worth the walk.

As I mentioned earlier, both the trail masonry and fall colors were really, really impressive.

Not experiencing the seasonality of perennial trees/plants in Hawaii, made me appreciate coming to Yosemite at this time of year even more.

The sun started to set and I was just shy of getting to the top, so I decided to pick up my pace. Note, the sun sets around 430pm in the late fall / early winter, so plan your start/completion times accordingly.

The top of the falls junctions with trail to Half Dome and Tuolumne Meadows. Since the cables to half-dome were down, there didn’t seem to be very many people coming up and down the trail.

To get to the edge of Nevada Falls, you will need to cross another wide, wooden bridge.

And the view back from here of Nevada falls and Half Dome…

…is spectacular.

I only had ~ 15 minutes at the top before I had to head back down the trail. It was already after 4pm and I really didn’t want to finish in the dark. The air temperature was already in the low 50s and didn’t want to stick around to see how cold it would get after the sun went down. I discourage rushing down the steep trail since it is very easy to trip / slip. To avoid this, make sure to start early if you plan to get to the top.

If you are going to Yosemite National Park, I strongly suggest you make time to hike this trail. Though I haven’t been on a lot of Yosemite hikes, I was thoroughly impressed by this one when compared to other hikes I have been on elsewhere. The trail is well kept/maintained/marked and is wide. Hand rails are present in the narrower / steep areas. Take caution in wet areas as it is easy to fall or lose your balance. You can usually avoid these, and stick to the drier parts of the trail… at least in the fall. The overspray from the two raging falls in the late spring or summer may be exponentially greater and make everything wet. The entire round trip shouldn’t take you more than 5-6 hours, if you take a lot of pictures or breaks. If you don’t stop frequently, you well finish it much faster. I’d rate this between an beginner and intermediate trail, and intermediate only because it requires quite a bit of uphill hiking. In addition to typical hiking gear, I’d recommend bringing a walking stick, especially to dampen the impact going down all of the granite steps. Keep in mind, the steps are not perfectly chiseled steps and are uneven in many places. If hiking in the fall/winter, make sure to layer/dress appropriately as it can get considerably cold, especially in the shade.

Keep in mind this is a 5-part series, which includes, camping, 2 waterfalls hikes, night photography, and bouldering while in Yosemite (see links at top of page). To view this location on a Google Map also known as my “Adventure Map“, Click Here. For more mainland and off-island adventures, Click Here!!!. Thanks for stopping by!!!