RATING |
|
 |
DISTANCE |
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4.0 miles round-trip |
HIKING TIME |
|
2.0 hours |
ELEVATION GAIN |
|
1,200 feet |
HIGH POINT |
|
7,240 feet |
EFFORT |
|
Prepare to Perspire |
BEST SEASON |
|
June to October |
PERMITS/CONTACT |
|
Yosemite National Park fee required |
|
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($20 per vehicle, valid for seven days), |
|
|
(209) 372-0200, www.nps.gov/yose |
MAPS |
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Yosemite National Park (download at www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/brochures.htm) |
NOTES |
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Dogs and bikes prohibited |
Postcard-perfect views of Yosemite are delivered on this “upside-down” hike from the top of Glacier Point.
From Highway 41 in Yosemite National Park, turn east on Glacier Point Road and drive 15.7 miles to Glacier Point. Park and walk toward the main viewing area across from the snack and gift shop. Look for the Panorama Trail sign about 150 feet southeast of the shop (to your right).
In Yosemite, we gaze at one world-class natural wonder after another—Bridalveil Falls, Cathedral Rock, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, Vernal and Nevada Falls, and more. Every one of these features is worthy of its very own park.
Many park visitors make the trip to Glacier Point to see all this splendor from up high. But for an even better look, take a walk on Glacier Point’s Panorama Trail. The trail begins just to the right (south) of the main viewing area. Head downhill on the trail, switchbacking through a fire-scarred pine forest in the direction of Illilouette Fall, a rushing cascade on Illilouette Creek. That’s pronounced “ill-ILL-ew-et.”
The High Sierra view from Yosemite’s Glacier Point is only surpassed by the continual series of views from Glacier Point’s Panorama Trail.
The sparse forest provides an open vista, which includes spectacular Vernal and Nevada Falls. Vernal Falls (the lower one) is a wide, blockshaped waterfall that drops more than 300 feet into a gorge. Nevada Falls, narrower and taller at 594 feet, is shaped like an inverted V. You can also admire the gleaming granite of Half Dome, Quarter Dome, and Liberty Cap—a banquet of domes.
After a series of switchbacks, the Panorama Trail junctions with a trail leading to Mono Meadow, but continue left for Illilouette Fall. In a few more footsteps you reach an overlook directly across from the waterfall. Illilouette doesn’t pour from the back of a canyon; it rushes over a lateral cliff, where the creek drops 370 feet over a granite lip. “Illilouette” sounds like a French name, but it’s not; it’s actually an awkward English translation of a Yosemite Indian word. To the Indians, the word was the name for the place where they gathered to hunt for deer.
After you’ve admired the waterfall, follow the trail as it descends farther and then crosses a bridge over Illilouette Creek, just above the falls. Posted signs warn hikers not to swim here. Instead, enjoy the granite and Whitewater scenery by the bridge and rest up: You have a 1,200-foot climb back to Glacier Point.
Ambitious hikers can follow the Panorama Trail all the way downhill to Yosemite Valley, but it’s a strenuous 8.5 miles with 3,200 feet of elevation loss and a serious workout for your knee joints. At Yosemite Valley, you will need to have a car shuttle to take you back to Glacier Point. Or you can take the tour bus to Glacier Point from Yosemite Lodge at the Falls in the morning, and then hike back down to your car in the Valley in the afternoon. Phone (209) 372-1240 for bus fees and pickup times.
