Lower Yosemite Falls

I agree with some Unilocalers. this is more of a walk than a small hike. Made it in less than 10 minutes. It is great for children and the mist feels wonderful on the bridge! I would come back during the summer time to enjoy the mist.

Again, not really a hike, more like a walk. In the summer there is less water so you can climb the rocks to get to the pool of water at the bottom of the waterfall. Signs suggest you to not climb the rocks due to injuries before but c’mon take the risk! Just be careful, watch your step, mind other people’s spaces’, and you’ll see how cool it is to be able to jump into the pool of water!
It’s freezing but totally worth the swim! Such a great experience to bath in water from a great waterfall!
Next time I’m doing the Upper Yosemite Falls! It’s only the tallest waterfall in America!!! C’mon!

This is super easy walk from Yosemite Lodge. I asked different people how long the hike was and most people said about 1 mile each way. I really don’t think it was that long. The trail is paved. We got to see some deer crossing the trail.

A great, brief hike (~1 hour total if you mingle around the falls). The trail itself is pretty flat, and there are some areas where bikes can go. I really enjoyed this hike, which takes you in a loop to see the Lower Yosemite Falls. Nice and peaceful, with beautiful scenery everywhere. There are several areas on the hike where you can see both the Upper and Lower falls together and that is really cool. The falls (both Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls) are fed by melting snow, so once the snow is melted, the falls dry up. I went in May, and the Falls were full and rushing. However, I believe that around August or so, the falls start to dry up.

Nice warning sign this year with xrays of broken kneecap and cracked skull. People still climb the boulders for a photo op. This week, we got to see a helicopter rescue out of Upper Yosemite Falls. Look up YOSAR.

Great views with minimal effort (read: short, easy walk)!

A brisk walk from the street where you park your car…
There is a fork in the road — on your left is the Falls View, where you can see both Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls in the distance.
To the right of the fork, you’ll walk directly to the bottom of Lower Yosemite Falls. It’s super quick, you’ll be able to finish within 10 minutes and it’s family-​friendly. Everyone comes here to check out the waterfall, so don’t miss out!
It’s wonderful during spring time because the waterfalls are flowing at full capacity, April is a good month!

We were staying at Camp 4 and looking for a short hike that was close by. Per our multiple guide books we had, we decided to walk to Lower Yosemite Falls.
Short walk from our campsite to the falls, maybe around ½ mile. Once there though it was so crowded! Lots of people, lots of tourists, lots of kids. It’s an easy access waterfall. Just walked right on up, probably took us 5 minutes.
It’s beautiful. We went out on the rocks to get closer to the fall. But again, it is packed with people.

I was here in November, during Thanksgiving week. So that meant less people, but VERY dry conditions. I think California had a really dry season in general around that time. I only went up the Lower Falls, pretty much because I knew the conditions were dry and I wanted to see a few other trails that day. Maybe if I come back, I’ll check out Upper Falls. It seems worth it, so who knows. I seem to be making a habit of viewing large waterfalls in the winter and THEN the summer (I did the same for Niagara Falls).
The trek wasn’t very difficult for the Lower Falls, and pretty soon, you see a bridge with the falls to your left. When I say dry conditions, I truly mean DRY conditions. As in, people were climbing in the bed of the falls. This was one of my favorite Yosemite experiences, and really made this part of the trip memorable for me because it was such a unique experience. It’s not every day you can say you climbed the bed of a usually burbling waterfall. I only went about three quarters of the way, if not a little less, but there were some people who had climbed all the way to the actual falls. It took me a good 30 – 45 minutes of climbing to even get as far as I did.
The tourists were doing what you’d probably expect with so much dry surface space and the waterfall so far from the bridge: they climbed into the bed because they could. And I don’t mean this was reserved for adults or teens. Oh no, no. There were children younger than 10 scampering along rocks and climbing up and down without any kind of supervision. So if they could do it, I could too, right? I’m sure it wasn’t allowable, but it was a really awesome experience. Being able to scale rocks over 5 feet tall (that’s only a couple inches shorter than I am!), and being in an area that is usually submerged under water (or at least spraying water) was so neat.
It was also a serious workout, to boot. I did the trail believing it wouldn’t be that bad (it wasn’t), but climbing up and down those rocks was definitely a workout. It was fun navigating taller rocks and wider rocks, and leaping across chasms to get higher up. It really made me appreciate my body, and the things it can do. Gripping into rocks with my fingertips and arms, using precise balance to walk on the jagged edges, my leg muscles to propel me up, down, and sideways, my feet to maneuver into crevices and cracks. It made me feel very accomplished to climb for a little while and turn around and see how far I’d come.
Take that, summer visitors! Bet you didn’t get to climb a waterfall bed.

The Lower Falls is an easy hike for just about anyone. You can walk from all points of the valley and turn it into a longer walk if you like, but you can also take the tram to and from different spots along the valley floor. We walked from Curry Village and then to the Lower Falls trail.
Much like the rest of the park, the hike and surrounding area is absolutely beautiful. Tons of history to take in and experience. John Muir built a cabin near the bast of Yosemite falls in the late 1800s and you can still visit the site of where the structure was. Pretty cool to see.
I also learned that this is a seasonal waterfall. We visited in mid-​September and the falls were actually dry. It’s actually pretty cool that this is possible and its interesting to learn about the ecosystem in this part of California. Simply wonderful.

Short hike to a great view of Lower Yosemite Falls. Go here during the summer and try to get a view of the elusive moonbow. You’ll have to brave the mist and the photographers and you may only see a silver arc, but it’s just a amazing to see a rainbow made by the full moon’s light!
Enjoy the mist!

Quite gorgeous. Took a lot of nice photos here with my family. Make sure you visit this if in Yosemite.

If you are going to come to these falls, it would be best to be here before July hits, because the waterfall just gets turned off (low flow). I have had a lot of fond memories going to Yosemite Falls. I love visiting these falls among all others in Yosemite… lots of rocks to play on and a good size pool at the top. There is a trail that takes you directly to the falls, which is located to the far left of the river.

Amazing

We have been to Lower Yosemite Falls many times and this is my first review. If you visiting Yosemite for the first time and only have 1 – 2 days, this is a must stop. You can view the Lower Yosemite Falls from the road side or even from the car but you must get close to this fall to see the massive water flows from the top and enjoy the mist. It is a short flat hike and we usually park the car at the Yosemite Village and walk to the fall. It is a nice 4-​miles flat trail both way.
Once you reached the Lower Falls, just enjoy the view and take a photo or two from the bridge. Then you walk around the bridge towards the boulder and climb around the obstacle to get close to the water fall. The water is icy cold even in Summer but good to soak your feet in hot days and not winter. We get very closed to the water fall and had fun getting across the boulder, rocks and people who are coming down. It is fun experience but there is a warning sign that it is «Danger» so be careful and make sure you have a good shoe to walk up and down these boulder which could get slippery when wet.
I forgot to mention that there is a spot where you can take a group photo with the Water falls behind you as background along the trail towards Yosemite Lodge. Look out for it.

I totally got the ugliest tan/​sunburn coming here, but I had such a good time that a little skin damage was ok with me.
Walked on a trail to get here, not knowing where I would end up at. Well, the hike was really quite easy compared to my other experience in Yosemite… and the reward of seeing a waterfall that you can play in was even better!
I spent the entire afternoon basking in the sun and playing in the water while being perched up on a giant rock in the middle of the stream that lay just below the waterfall. The water was icy cold, but the sun made it bearable. To get to the stream isn’t a difficult task, there were plenty of kids climbing down the giant boulders on the side to get to the water. Even though there were tons of people there was always a place to chill and enjoy the view. The waterfall overall is not a far walk from the shuttles which is nice because after a day of playing in the water, climbing rocks and hiking, you want to reserve the last bit of your energy to enjoy the rest of the night.
This place is one of the spots that I would want to come to Yosemite for, with my mom that is. She’s a tiny woman with short legs that can barely keep up with me at Costco. So this would be a nice and easy journey for her… but next time I’ll wear my bikini top or something strapless rather than my thick strapped racerback tank. –_​_​_​_​–

Unbelievable! I felt like Captain Ahab in the search of Moby Dick… for years I’ve been chasing the «moonbow» at lower Yosemite falls and FINALLY I SAW IT!
The moon is so bright and full at certain times of the year that it hits the water at night and forms a perfect rainbow. This time 100+ spectators came at 10:40pm to see one of the most gorgeous gifts from creation.
Apparently it can only be captured on film when the aperture of special lens camera are left open a minute or 2. Unfortunately, we didn’t have one but you can be sure it is tatooed in my memory f.o.r.e.v.e.r. In the meantime our group took this photo on the base of the falls.

October is not the ideal time to see waterfalls, but we still enjoyed this short, easy walk to see Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. The falls weren’t spectacular, compared to others I’ve seen, but it is still incredibly cool to see one of the longest waterfalls in the world. While the views may not be the most amazing, especially in October, there’s also very little effort involved. My big complaint was that the trail was confusingly marked (like much else in Yosemite, I felt) and there were signs labeled «Lower Yosemite Falls» pointing in multiple directions. I’m not sure we did the complete loop, we just wandered until we saw the falls, but there may have been better viewpoints elsewhere.
Shuttle Stop #6

This short, easy walk rewards with spectacular views of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. It’s a paved 1 mile loop and for me it’s a tasty appetizer for a more challenging and rewording hike on the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail. At the same time, the final 320 foot drop of Yosemite Falls is a pretty cool thing to see. From here, Yosemite Creek emerges from the base of the Lower Falls and flows into the nearby Merced River. Also watch out for the slippery loose rocks (talus) around the plunge pool at the bottom.
I have only been here in the non-​Summer months when the crowds are small and the weather/​scenery is more refreshing. Of course in the later months of the year, there might not be much water flowing. You can begin at the Lower Yosemite Falls Trail head at Shuttle Stop #6.

Always an adventure and the falls are amazing. It is difficult to get pictures due to the sheer size of the falls and the crush of tourists.
Come in the Spring when the falls are at their finest. Be prepared to brave the crowds and wear waterproof clothes. The tour buses stop here; the falls will be at their finest; and you will get wet.
For ideas on what not to wear check out my photo. Unless heels are the new hiking boot.