Chilnualna Falls Trail

Peaceful and almost empty trail — I saw about 6 people total heading in the opposite direction — either couples or solo individuals (on a Thursday afternoon towards the end of April). Great if you like solitude. Was about 8 miles round trip, mostly uphill for the first 4, then you turn back around to take the same path down. Pretty tiring and hard on the knees. Bringing trekking poles really helped. At times, it just seemed endless, but was gorgeous when I finally reached the top. Nice feeling the waterfall mist too. Took me about 4 hours, but I was walking pretty quickly on the way back, so it might take most people about 5 hours.
I didn’t see any mountain lions or rattlesnakes, but I did see bears. On the way up, I was wearing a bear bell which rattles while u hike so that bears hear it and stay away. Halfway through my hike, another hiker I encountered said he didn’t see any signs of bears so I took off the bell, feeling silly about wearing it in the first place. On my way back down (about 2 miles in from the trailhead), I saw a bear cub right on the trail, but it ran off when it heard me coming. It stopped to look back at me and was super cute — like a real life teddy bear. Glad the mama bear wasn’t there. Two minutes later I saw another cub run across the trail like 20 feet in front of me. At that point I figured there was a whole family so I put my bell back on and walked as quickly as possible to pass that area.

Not congested, beautiful scenery and not really taxing on folks my age! It was gorgeous! Swinging bridge is a must!

Not too far from highway 41 in the Yosemite forest you’ll find this relatively easy waterfall hike to access.
Just park your car & go.
Ill be honest tho…
We didn’t go the full distance. We did however come across 2 small waterfalls in the 1 mile of the 5 mile hike. So that was the easy part and good enough for us. There are small pools of water to get to and set up a picnic or just soak your feet. If you’re able bodied the hike should be a piece of cake.
There is also a horse trail.
Id say the only thing that you should be conscious and respectful of is the coyotes, bears or mountain lions that you may or may not encounter. Always stay vigilant and remember to clean up any trash you leave behind.
Remember to just breathe and take in the sights & sounds when here.
Have fun!

love this trail. have brought many friends here. beautiful views. clean, fresh air (thought this is true of all yosemite). and quite an elevation gain along the way. great place for a strenuous workout, but you can make it just a moderate walk if you pace yourself.
this trail is great literally all year round. havent really come here in the dead of winter due to vehicle limitations, but early spring, summer and fall though late fall are all wonderful. as i have been here in the summer there are even some really perfect natural pools formed by the huge rocks along the water. the icy cold water makes a refreshing place to take a dive or two on a long, hot day.
there are many places to diverge off of the trail to the water. some of the best views and beautiful break areas are off the beaten path. easy not to get lost in.
one of my favorite paths here is found about halfway up the trail. after climbing up a dry rocky area on the trail where it levels off there is a place to diverge from the trail. then you follow the water for about a half mile and there lie some of my favorite spots. big flat rocks to sit around on and eat sandwiches. take a nap. or just look around. here also are some of the aforementioned pools.
being from the Central Valley it’s so refreshing to have a trail that is so beautiful and forested just about 60 – 70 miles away. the view from the top is amazing and well worth the hike. signs posted say that there are trails as long as 13 miles there but I have only hiked to the top of the 4 mile trail.
there are a lot of other great trails in Yosemite, but this one is very unique. have been here many times and will continue to do so. also in the warmer months watch out for snakes!

This trail begins at the end of Chilnualna Falls Rd in Wawona, CA located inside of Yosemite National Park.
You can customize this hike according to your experience level, as you go as far as your experience level can take you, and then go back. It can be a quick and easy 30min hike or an arduous 4 – 6 mile hike, half of which can be rather steep and challenging.
Chilnualna Falls has many «tiers» and you will experience these many levels on the way up. For the novice hikers, you can hike up to the lowest tier (Lower Chilnualna Falls), which will take about 30 min round trip. This lower tier can provide a very easy hiking and scenic experience, particularly in the early summer when there is plenty of water cascading down. Unfortunately later in the summer, there is not «as much» water. You can turn around and head back to the parking area, or if you want a bit more of a challenge, keep going higher to visit the upper areas of Chilnualna Falls.
A word of caution, be careful and stay on the trails, as going too far away from it can expose you to some pretty steep drops. Also, swimming in the pools can be slippery! There are also Mountain Lion sighting here, so I don’t suggest going with small children, but if you do, keep them very close to you.
This is a wonderful trail for all experience levels, and best of all, because Yosemite brochures list this hike as an «advanced» hike, it doesn’t attract as many people — most will not know that there is an easy portion to it, that will provide a nice view of the lower falls!

My family has a cabin in the nearby town of Wawona, so I’ve hiked this trail many times. It’s about an 8.1 mile hike there and back, so it can be done in half a day, although it is more strenuous than in sounds. One would be wise to bring food and water with them.
The views are beautiful, and as the earlier review stated, you’re always near the water. At the very beginning of the trail, there are some great photo opportunities and rocks to climb (be careful!)
The town of Wawona, and the falls itself are about 45 minutes from the valley, near the south entrance to the park. It’s the only place where one can actually own land in a national park, and it’s a great place to stay during the summer, as it does not get as packed as the valley proper. You should definitely consider this spot for your next vacation!

Yosemite isn’t exactly a serene place to go during the summer months. You might avoid a lot of people during the cooler part of the year but a lot of the park isn’t accessible like the Mist Trail and the rest of the Half Dome trail. Even when you are inundated with tourists from all over, there still are places around the park where you may still find some serenity. Chilnualna Falls Trail is one of these places.
Since the trail is out of the valley and not as grand as the other falls hikes, you might luck out and be alone. Nearby Wawona Hotel and past the Seventh Day Adventist-​run Camp Wawona (a great alternative to other busier lodging spots), you will find the trail head. It’s at the very end of Chilnualna Falls Road and there are plenty of signs directing you towards the start. The trail is warm during the summer, but the highlight of the hike is the water –duh. Check it out in it’s full summer glory. The first quarter mile or so is fairly steep and strenuous for folks of average fitness. The grade doesn’t get much easier but the good thing is that you’ll almost always be near the falls and I believe the best view is closer to the start anyway. You can make the hike a few minutes or a couple hours. It’s an out and back course.
Yosemite’s popular for good reason. Here’s another beautiful sight to check out when in Yosemite.