Hiking to Yosemite Falls in Yosemite National Park

Yosemite Falls is one of the highlights of visiting Yosemite National Park and it is not a difficult hike to do even with children. A portion of the trail is also wheelchair accessible.

If you have heard me mention Yosemite at all on the podcast you know that I absolutely love this National Park. The beauty and the grandeur of this place cannot be overstated and one of the places that is most evident is at Yosemite Falls. Yosemite Falls also happens to be very convenient to visit.

How to Get to the Lower Yosemite Falls Hike

Note: In this post we are talking about going to Lower Yosemite Falls, which is an easy hike that families can do. There is a hike to the upper falls as well, but that is much longer and more strenuous, to get to that hike you would want to start from Camp 4.

When you are visiting Yosemite chances are your first stop was the Yosemite Valley Visitor Center. The visitor center is a great place to start and a great place to park your car. Visitation to the park during the Covid-19 pandemic has been limited, but during normal years this park is often quite busy. It is easiest to find a place to park and the visitor center and then leave your car there.

Shuttle buses run through the valley (similar to the systems and the Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks). They run continuously and make it easy to get around this congested area with out trying to find parking (they were not running during the 2020 season due to Covid-19). You can take the shuttle from the visitor center to the Lower Yosemite Fall shuttle stop (#6).

Shuttles run frequently, but if there isn’t one there when you want to leave or it is crowded, you can just walk. It is not far to the Lower Yosemite Fall trail. A short walk west on the bike path running next to Village Drive will get you there in just a few minutes.

Hiking to Yosemite Falls

The first thing to note is that the amount of water flowing through Yosemite Valley is very different depending on what time of year you are there. If you come during spring runoff you will see a ton of water plunging way, way down at Yosemite Falls, if you come in the fall you might not see any water at all. We were there in late May which was an excellent time to see them.

The trail to the lower falls is a horseshoe with one end starting at the shuttle stop and the other at the picnic area. You can hike in either direction, but the website says the views of the falls are better if you hike clockwise (starting from the picnic area). We didn’t know what we were doing so we hiked counterclockwise. You also get great views this way.

The side of the trail leaving from the shuttle stop is wheelchair (and stroller) accessible. We had Lucy in a carrier so we can’t say that we tried it out, but it looked like it would be fine. Along this side of the trail there is also an offshoot onto some foot bridges that takes you to a great view of the falls.

We recommend doing the whole loop (about 1 mile) if you can. It is an easy hike and there are spectacular views everywhere. At the top of the loop you will be at the base of the lower falls, and if water is running you will get wet!

Sum Up

If you can go see Yosemite Falls in the spring or early summer it is a must do. You will love seeing these incredible waterfalls from all the different vantage points along the trail and even from other places in the valley. The trail is open all year, but we can’t speak to whether or not it is worth it when the falls are dry.