West of Yosemite Village, Yosemite Falls is considered the tallest waterfall in North America, dropping 2425ft (740m) in three tiers. A slick trail leads to the bottom or, if you prefer solitude, you can clamber up the Yosemite Falls Trail, which puts you atop the falls after a grueling 3.4 miles. The falls are usually mesmerizing, especially when the spring runoff turns them into thunderous cataracts, but are reduced to a trickle by late summer.
Getty Images/Robert Harding World Imagery
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
4.03 MILES
Yosemite means "killer" in the Indigenous Miwok language, and in today's parlance it's indeed an impressive, awesome site. Everywhere you look in Yosemite…
17.19 MILES
With their massive stature and multi-millennium maturity, the chunky high-rise sequoias of Mariposa Grove will make you feel rather insignificant. The…
1.98 MILES
If you drove, the views from 7214ft Glacier Point might make you feel like you cheated – superstar sights present themselves without your having made…
3.54 MILES
Yosemite's most distinctive natural monument, Half Dome is 87 million years old and has a 93% vertical grade – the sheerest cliff in North America…
2.51 MILES
At nearly 3600ft from base to summit, El Capitan ranks as one of the world’s largest granite monoliths. Its sheer face makes it a world-class destination…
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7.37 MILES
This ‘honey, hit the brakes!’ viewpoint, midway between the May Lake turnoff and Tenaya Lake, is a lunar landscape of glaciated granite with a stunning…
3.7 MILES
At the southwestern end of the valley, Bridalveil Fall tumbles 620ft. The Ahwahneechee people call it Pohono (Spirit of the Puffing Wind), as gusts often…
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5.37 MILES
Some of Yosemite's best vistas are granted to those who hike the steep, 1.3-mile trail up to this viewpoint. Inspiration Point used to be a spot along an…
Nearby Yosemite National Park attractions
0.6 MILES
The Yosemite Museum has Miwok and Paiute artifacts, including woven baskets, beaded buckskin dresses and dance capes made from feathers. Native American…
0.66 MILES
Few know about it, but original Ansel Adams photographic prints are shown at Yosemite Valley's Ansel Adams Gallery. A number of walks and classes are also…
0.73 MILES
This bridge over the Merced River has fantastic views of Half Dome and Yosemite Falls.
0.86 MILES
Built in 1879, this chapel is Yosemite’s oldest structure that still remains in use, including for weddings. In 1885, President Ulysses Grant's memorial…
5. Yosemite Conservation Heritage Center
1.29 MILES
Built by the Sierra Club in 1903, this small, rustic, granite-and-wood lodge offers a glimpse of a relatively unknown chapter of California architecture…
1.31 MILES
About a quarter-mile east of Yosemite Village, The Ahwahnee is a picture of rustic elegance, dating back to 1927. You don’t need to be a…
1.51 MILES
An iconic spot, both as a perfect foreground structure for photos of Half Dome in the distance and for its simple, elegant single-arch stone design over…
1.98 MILES
If you drove, the views from 7214ft Glacier Point might make you feel like you cheated – superstar sights present themselves without your having made…