The Yosemite National Park Waterfalls

Yosemite National Park has more than twenty-five waterfalls. Usually, Spring is the best time to see them since their flow depends on the waters from melting snow. Many of Yosemite’s waterfalls can be viewed from the road or by taking a short walking path.

Once you cross the tunnel to the Valley, you can see the Bridal Veil-Fall opposite El Capitan. Its Native American name is Pohono, which means “evil wind.”

Yosemite Waterfall is one of the tallest waterfalls in the world. It is divided into three segments. It is so tall that the water turns into mist before it reaches the ground. If the temperature is too cold, the mist will freeze instantly. 

This waterfall dries up in Summer when the snow completely melts from mid-July to September.

To see Vernal Fall, I had to do a moderate hike on the Mist Trail. It is 3 miles (4.8 km) round trip, and it follows the Merced River, starting at Happy Isles. I visited the park during the first week of March, and the upper segment of the trail was closed because of the ice. Closer to the Valley, it was all clear, but once I started to go up, I found patches of ice.

The Merced River waters run with force, and I could enjoy and photograph it from different places. The trail has amazing views of the gigantic boulders suspended almost in midair, hanging from the mountain’s wall.  

Horsetail Falls is very famous because of the Firefall phenomenon. When the waterfall gets reddish, the sunset light that turns its waters into fire. It happens every year during the last weeks of February. Sadly I didn’t see it because I visited the park several weeks later. The waterfall is very beautiful even when its waters are just plain white.